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STN Sports Weekly Rundown

October 4, 2023

Mahomes Slide and Jets Cover Has ‘7-Figure’ Impact on Sports Betting Industry

Although the MLB playoffs have begun, it was an NFL slide that became the talk of the sporting world. Over $1 million dollars shifted industrywide on Sunday night when Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes eschewed a touchdown and opted for a slide that would make any playground jealous.

While the STN Sports Books were happier than William Karlsson at a championship parade, bettors were left stunned as they watched their Chiefs tickets become as worthless as an Echelon Place casino chip.

With all that in mind, let’s quickly look back at the past week in sports and peek at what’s ahead on the STN Sports App and at the Station Casinos Race and Sports Books…

Bad Beats

The Kansas City Chiefs entered Sunday night’s game against the New York Jets as 9.5-point favorites, and the public was all over Taylor Swift’s new favorite team. In addition, there was a ton of parlay liability tied to the game.

At the STN Sports Books, about 80% of the tickets were on the Chiefs, so the Book was desperate for a Jets cover. And, they got it when Mahomes decided to slide at the 1-yard line rather than walk in for a touchdown. Had the Chiefs QB scored, Kansas City would have likely kicked the extra point and won by 10. By sliding, not scoring and letting the clock run, Mahomes guaranteed a Chiefs win, albeit by 3 points instead of 10. The slide was more dramatic than a Tupac Shakur arrest.

“We had a tremendous amount of jeopardy or liability going into the Sunday night game, and it probably would’ve been our worst Sunday of the year had it not been for my favorite slide that I’ve seen in a long time,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos’ Race and Sports Book Director. “That really saved us on Sunday, but it also really saved us having considerable liability going into the Monday night game.” He added, “I can tell you that industrywide it was a dramatic swing of the seven figures.”

Whereas Patrick Mahomes’ Ricky Henderson impression was vomit-inducing for the guests, the Book was on the wrong side of a bad beat on Saturday in the Penn State/Northwestern game. The Nittany Lions were 27-point favorites against the ‘Cats, and Northwestern was well within position to cover, as they were down 21 with time dwindling down. However, with two minutes left, the backup quarterback for Penn St. faked a kneel-down and instead tossed a 30-yard pass to cover the spread. Penn St. won by 28.

“Bad beats happened on both sides of the counter over the weekend, but it’s magnified when it’s a pro football game and it’s an isolated Sunday night or Monday night game,” Esposito said. No matter how to cut it up, both sides got beat like Jermell Charlo at T-Mobile. Still, despite Penn State game going the way of the bettors, the STN Books had one of its better Saturdays of the season.

A Look Ahead

The Houston Texans stunned the Steelers last week with an absolute rout, but guests are still taking a wait-and-see approach with them. Money is already coming in on the Falcons to best CJ Stroud’s squad. The Rams are also getting some early love from bettors, and Bengals/Cardinals total has also ticked up.

“The Cardinals don’t have a tremendous pass rush and the Bengals can’t get their offense together,” Esposito said. “The Cardinals have shown that they can move the ball and they’re much better than I thought they would be.” The fact that Cincinnati, an early AFC favorite, is struggling is more alarming than that Wednesday morning iPhone notification you got.

LMS update

The numbers are dwindling down, and Last Man Standing entries are getting ousted like a House Speaker. We’re four weeks into the NFL season and just over 10% of the entries in the contest are still active. Over in the college Last Man Standing competition, about 11% of the entries are still active.

MLB Playoffs

On Tuesday, the MLB Playoffs began. While the National League’s Dodgers and Braves seem to be getting more the ink than on the opening night of The Sphere, there is one team who could give them a headache: The Philadelphia Phillies.

“I think the Phillies are a little bit of a dark horse,” Esposito said. “They were there last year, the top of their rotation is really strong, and they can clearly hit with anybody in the league.” If Philly has one Achilles heel, it might be the bullpen. “If I was looking for somebody just from a value standpoint, after the Dodgers and the Braves, I would look at the Phillies,” the Station oddsmaker said. The American League, meanwhile, looks a bit more wide open, but the Astros are the odds-on favorites to come out of the AL.

“They’re built for the postseason and they have the experience, but it wouldn’t stun me if somebody kind of snuck in in the American League,” he said, “but I’m going to say the Phillies are a little bit of a dark horse than the National League.” After the Phillies’ 4-1 win on Tuesday night, you can see why they could cause problems for the league.

Bets To Know

For the third time in four years, the Las Vegas Aces are in the WNBA Finals, and the handle is expected to be bigger than an XS bottle service bill. Get a part of the action with the STN Sports App as we’re posting series prices, game prices, props, and more!

Weekly Winners

Player props for the win! This STN Sports guest was surgical with their player TDs in Pro Football this past weekend. $5 to win $897.60:

– J JEFFERSON (MIN) OV .5 TD -125

– L JACKSON (BAL) OV .5 TD +145

– C RIDLEY (JAX) OV .5 TD +160

– N COLLINS (HOU) OV .5 TD +220

– C LAMB (DAL) OV .5 TD +140

– K WALKER (SEA) OV .5 TD +105