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STN Sports Weekly Rundown
June 22, 2022
Baseball Favorites Are Cleaning Station Sports Book’s Clocks Like Mrs. Doubtfire, Warriors Celebrate, And More Sports Betting News and Nuggets
One champion was crowned over the past week, and another is about to be. Considering the bath the Station Casinos Sports Book took with the Golden State Warriors win, a Lighting championship would have it feeling downright thunderstruck. Speaking specifically of the NBA Finals, Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Race and Sports Book Director, said, “There was a lot of action on that series, but it was really good for the bettors.” Let’s quickly look back over the sport’s landscape and take a peek at what’s ahead on the ice, on the diamond, on the greens and on the STN Sports App and at the Station Casinos Race and Sports Book.
Gold Blooded
Things couldn’t have gone worse for the Station Casinos Sports Books when it came to the NBA Finals. The odds makers made no secret of the fact that it was cheering for the Boston Celtics in all of the six games. The behind-the-counter fandom turned out to be as beneficial as a casino chip from The Drew. The only real saving grace for the Book was that bettors consistently pushed for the over, which only cashed in two of the six games. “In many cases the under saved us,” Esposito admitted. Still, in Game 5, 60% of the tickets were on Golden State; in Game 6, in which the Warriors were underdogs, 65% of the tickets were on Steph Curry and the Golden Guys. While the Dubs were expected to compete this season, they still had 5-to-1 odds coming into the season, so the Book had to pay those bets off. “Guests bet them before the series, and they were able to get them at a juicy price after they lost the first game,” Esposito said. The fact that the Warriors won outright in Game 5 and then covered the line in Game 6 also ended the NBA season with an incredible anomaly: It was the 27th straight game in the Association wherein the final result didn’t fall within the spread, meaning the ‘dog won outright or the favorite covered the line.
One bettor hoped to be seeing green in Game 6, but the guest ended up with the blues. A Station guest plopped down a $185,000 bet on Boston on the money line, thinking the Celtics would force a Game 7. That bet, had it won, would have cashed for $112,000. Normally that type of win for the Book would be huge, but “it paled in comparison to all the Warriors bets we had on the game,” Esposito said.
Ice Capades
The Station Casinos Sports Books are hoping to harness some of that John Denver energy and feel Rocky Mountain High by the end of the NHL Finals. “We’re Colorado Avalanche fans on the future book and the series, no question,” Esposito acknowledged. Going into the NHL Finals, 71% of the tickets were on Tampa Bay. It’s somewhat unusual for the Book to be pulling for the favorite in a high profile series like this, but the Lightning are not your average underdog, as they come in as back-as-back champs. “In the first two games we saw a lot of two-way action, so we were Lightning fans more than anything else, but we were definitely Colorado fans in Game 3 and definitely Colorado fans in the series,” Esposito said.
Are NHL bettors over it? You bet they are. In Game 4, the over is getting hammered like a piece of lumber at Durango Station. Esposito sees that as a sound bet. “Colorado is just so fast and plays such an open style. But then Tampa is so good that I think they realize that they’re going to have to adapt a little bit, that you’re not going to keep Colorado out of the back of the net,” he said. Tampa, a defensive team by nature, is going to have to find the net to compete. Should Tampa win Game 4 (a game that’s a pick ‘em,) watch out. Remember, this is a team that was down 0-2 to New York and rattled off four straight. “The longer this series goes, I think the potential advantage goes to Tampa because of Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes,” Esposito opined. “A lot more pressure goes on Colorado if this series goes six or seven games.”
US Open
Matt Fitzpatrick (who?) will forever be a US Open Champion, and despite him being a part of the “field” bet, the Station Casinos Sports Books came away happy. Unlike Cristiano Ronaldo’s jawline or a Don Larsen World Series game, the Book wasn’t perfect, as it didn’t fare too well on the matchup props, which saw heavy play. “Overall we got beat a little bit on the matchups, but we did well on the future book,” Esposito said. Interestingly, the Book and STN Sports App might normally have the British Open odds posted, but the LIV golf promotion is causing more delays than an inept traffic controller at a Raiders game. Like Brooks Koepka did on Tuesday, players are continuing to jump ship to LIV. “I think this is just kind of scratching the surface right now,” Esposito said. “So until we get a little bit clearer picture it’s kind of hard to put some of these futures up for golf tournaments in both cases.”
Free Money
Remember when I told you the Dodgers were cashing on the run line in over 80 percent of their wins? Add the Yankees to that group. When the pinstripes win, they’re typically winning by more than one run, so you might as well take them on the run line (thank me for the free money later.) New York is good, really good. Actually, both Big Apple teams are really good. Esposito noted that one guest has parlayed the Mets and Yankees every single day of the season so far, and that bettor is cleaning house better than Mrs. Doubtfire. While it’s not abnormal for bettors to fade the bad teams and bet the good ones, the timing of it all is different. “I remember every season being like this. I just don’t remember it being this early,” Esposito said. Part of the reason bettors have been so productive in baseball is due to the fact that there are few surprises. “Before the season started, if you asked me who would be in first place in the divisions I could have probably gotten them most of them right, with the exception being the AL Central,” Esposito said. “With the same breath, if you asked me to pick what team would be in last place in every division right now in baseball, my guess is I would’ve been spot on.”
Bets To Know
Missing basketball? The STN App and Station Casinos have posted Pro Basketball futures for the ’22-23 season! And Pro Hockey is wrapping up but there is still a huge menu of options and in-game betting to take advantage of. Lastly, golf action continues with the 2022 Travelers Championship this weekend and the app has plenty of matchup picks, futures, and a slate of player props!
STN Sports Weekly Winners
A 7 teamer holds true for this STN Sports bettor! This was a sweet $100 bet to win $8,491.20 on June 20th:
- – Braves -146
- – Lighting -115
- – Red Sox UN 9.5 -120
- – Angels UN9 -115
- – Blue Jays OV 9 -115
- – Padres -1.5 +125
- – Cubs OV 8 -115