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STN Sports Weekly Rundown

September 7, 2022

Let’s just call it Sports Book September! Not only has college football started, but the NFL is arriving, there’s a massive UFC fight this weekend, the Aces are headed to the WNBA Finals, the US Open is ongoing and baseball is in the home stretch.

“There’s just no down time right now,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Race and Sports Book Director. “There’s a lot going on during this time of year in September, and it’s a lot of fun from our side of the counter and from the guest side.” With all apologies to Green Day, don’t even think about waking us up when September ends! Lets be dancin’ in September with Earth, Wind & Fire!

With all that in mind, let’s quickly look back over the sport’s landscape and dish out some insight on what’s ahead on the field, on the court, on the STN Sports App and at the Station Casinos Race and Sports Books.

Saturday Football
We’re only through Week 1 in NCAAF, but the chaos on campus is here. In the first week of the season, we learned that Alabama and Georgia are really, really good. We also learned that the Station Casinos oddsmakers are loving on teams in The Sunshine State.

“That Florida win over Utah was really, really a good game for our side of the counter,” Esposito said. “The Florida State win over LSU was really good for us. Guests were very much on Utah and LSU. We really needed Florida.” This might be the only time anyone speaks highly of “A Florida Man.” Meanwhile, like Donald Trump in 2020, Station Books found nothing redeeming about the Peach State. Georgia’s manhandling of Oregon and Clemson’s beatdown of Georgia Tech both proved to be moneymakers for the general public.

“Georgia tech did everything they could to give that game away, and they most certainly did,” Esposito said. Amid this tale of two states, country music group Florida Georgia Line — one guy was from Florida, that other from Georgia — also formally broke up this week. Coincidence?

Hawaii is again letting guests say aloha to the money! The Warriors ended college football Saturday, as the often do… and they got absolutely pulverized, as they often do. With it being the last game of the day, the Sports Book and STN Sports App saw quite a bit of action. Although Las Vegas is commonly referred to as “The Ninth Island,” local bettors felt the Warriors would make less noise than a Matt Goss residency show. “This is back-to-back weeks now that Hawaii was literally run off the island,” Esposito said. “Bettors did well with the late game.”

It’s not college football without a bad beat! If you had East Carolina in the upset on Saturday, our condolences. Not only did East Carolina kicker Owen Daffer miss a game-tying extra point with under 3 minutes left in the game, he followed that up by missing what would have been a game-winning 41-yard field goal. We’ve seen more painless kickers on the poker table. “That was a bad beat for our side of the of the counter,” Esposito said.

Sunday Football
You’ve waited long enough, but the time is finally here. The NFL has arrived. The season kicks off on Thursday with the Buffalo Bills facing off against the defending champion Los Angeles Rams. Thus far, there has been equal action on both teams. However, the bigger bets are all going on Buffalo, who is a small favorite (and the favorite to the win the whole shebang.)

“The line definitely crept up from where we opened it,” Esposito said, “but the ticket count is probably closer to 50/50, which is kind of telling you that the game’s basically a pick ‘em.” If the line jumps up to L.A. +3, the professional bettors are expected to jump on L.A.. Your takeout order from Wingstop notwithstanding, what’s the reason for the Buffalo love? Some of it has to do with the mysterious status of Matthew Stafford’s elbow, as well as injuries or departures of keys players.

“There is a little bit of a correlation there where teams in every sport get their rings on that first game and struggle,” Esposito said. “I think the key, really, is that Buffalo is kind of that team where everybody expects to be playing in February. If you look at the two teams, I think most people are going to tell you even on a neutral field, that the Bills are the better of the two teams That doesn’t mean that they are and it doesn’t mean that the result will play out like that Thursday night.”

While the bulk of NFL money will be bet on Saturday or Sunday, lines are beginning to shift based off action. In the early going, the 49ers, Vikings, Ravens and Broncos are getting love like a Bunny Ranch employee. “My guess is we’re going to be huge Seahawks fans on Monday night to end the week,” said Esposito. In something previously unheard of, bettors seem to be leery of Tom Brady and Buccaneers, likely tied to his mysterious and “personal” 11-day departure from training camp.

“Between his absence and Godwin’s health, and there still was a coaching change that occurred there, I’ve heard that think there’s a lot of value with Dallas in that first game on Sunday night,” Esposito said. Ironically, Tampa and Dallas are two teams that the Sports Book thinks may have less-than-expected seasons. (The Book is also eyeballing Green Bay as potential candidate for an uncharacteristic down year.) “This is the first time that I can remember probably in a good five years that you’re not seeing a lot of backing on Green Bay and Dallas to win the Super Bowl as far as ticket counts,” Esposito said.

Last Chance for Last Man!
The Last Man Standing competitions in both the NFL and college football remain open for a few more days. Station Casinos Race and Sports Books are currently accepting signups for the annual winner-take-all contests. Guests can sign up in person at any Station Casinos Sports Book, and the cost is $25 per entry. Each contestant that purchases four entries will receive a fifth free. While still active in the competition, guests must turn in weekly picks in person. Active participants are required to select one game against the spread for each entry. For reference, the Last Man Standing competition in the college field will win a guaranteed minimum of $100,000, and the NFL’s Last Man Standing will take home a guaranteed minimum of $150,000. The sign-up deadline for NCAAF contest is September 10 at 7:30 p.m. The sign-up deadline for the NFL contest is September 11 at 5 p.m.

Down The Stretch Storylines
Don’t give up on the boys of summer just yet. We know that football is king when it comes to wagering, but there are some incredible storylines happening in baseball that are more interesting than any Las Vegas Review-Journal headline. In addition to the divisional races in NL East and AL Central, does Aaron-Supreme-Court-Judge break the Yankees single-season home run record? Does the ancient Albert Pujols get to 700 home runs for his career? Both questions are prop bets on the STN Sports App.

“I think those two storylines are going to keep baseball in the forefront,” Esposito said, noting that guests often curb baseball betting in favor or NFL betting in early September. His belief is that will change. “The fact that this year you’ve seen those gigantic prices and good teams winning at an epic clip and especially on the run line, I think bettors would be foolish this year to leave baseball, and I don’t think they will,” the oddsmaker said. “I think you’re still going to see a lot of those dollars spread out in baseball this year because the bettors have done so well.”

Bets To Know

It’s an unexpected story this baseball season: the Albert Pujols quest to 700 home runs! Check the STN Sports App for multiple selections on where he ends up, with ranges from 694-696, 697-699, Exactly 700, or 701+!

STN Sports Weekly Winners

•  
• ACES -115
• BRAVES -1½-115 (P LOPEZ/M FRIED)
• GIANTS -1½+170 (R SUAREZ/C RODON)
• D’BACKS -1½+135 (J ALEXANDER/Z GALLEN)
• DODGERS -1½+125 (M CLEVINGER/C FERGUSON)
• ASTROS -1½-105 (J URQUIDY/T DAVIDSON)
• REDS -1½+165 (J URENA/C ANDERSON)
• MARINERS -1½+135 (G KIRBY/C QUANTRILL)