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STN Sports Weekly Rundown
October 21, 2021
Late in the fourth quarter of the Packers/Bears game last Sunday, Aaron Rodgers ran to the end zone and scored a backbreaking touchdown. He then shouted, “I own you” to Bears fans.
In week 6 of the NFL, think of sports gamblers as Mr. Discount Double Check, and think of the Station Casinos Race & Sports Book as the Bears fans. Simply put, bettors owned the books. Many guests, of course, did their damage with their weapons of mass destruction, aka, their smart phones and the STN Sports betting app! Let’s look at a few things we learned this week across the sports landscape and a few things to look forward to.
Be Our Gue$t
If you looked close, you might have confused the Station sports books with an ATM this past Sunday, especially after the morning NFL games, which saw the favorites go 7-0 against the spread. “It was clearly the best Sunday that I can remember for the bettor in a long time,” Station Casinos Race & Sports Book Chuck Esposito said. “It was a parlay card bonanza for our guests.” Not even Hanks or T-Bones was serving up this much tender!
Station customers heavily backed Kansas City, Green Bay and Dallas, all of whom covered the line. “Guests were cashing six, seven, eight-team parlays all day. I personally saw one person cash an eight-team parlay for $15,000. I saw multiple of those come across,” Esposito said. “It was a really good weekend for our guests, and they were having fun with it.”
Pro Tip
The D in “Big D” stands for dominance. As EVERY Dallas Cowboys fan will tell you (trust us, they’ll tell you) the team is very good. They’re also undefeated (6-0) against the spread, and they only seem to be getting better.
“I guess if you like the Cowboys, lay the lumber,” Esposito said. Dallas’ offense is ranked No. 1 and its defense is no slouch, as it’s third in takeaway (Trevon Diggs, brother of Stefon Diggs, might be the best receiver in his family, and he plays on defense!) “They look more and more like a team that could be playing in February,” Esposito said.
How ‘Bout ‘Dem Cowboys!
Georgia On My Mind
How big is the gap between No. 1 ranked Georgia and everyone else in college football? Not that big, Esposito believes. “I would still put Alabama right there. Even though they had the one loss I don’t think there’s a significant drop-off at this point,” he said. “I think it’s Georgia and ‘Bama, and then you still make the case for Ohio State, Cincinnati and a host of Big Ten schools, but there’s definitely a gap after Georgia and Alabama.”
The Tide had no issues with Mississippi State last week, hanging 49 on them and easily covering the line. The Bulldogs, well, its bettors might feel like they need a tetanus shot after getting bit with just four seconds left at the end of the Kentucky game.
The Wildcats, who hadn’t scored a point since the middle of the second quarter, took possession of the ball with just over 11 minutes left in the game and down 30-7. Kentucky’s quarterback Will Levis (no relation to your denim jeans) proceeded to lead the team on an 11 minute and 23 second drive, only to score a touchdown with just 4 seconds left in the game. Georgia entered the game as a favorite of more than three touchdowns. Final score: 30-13.
The only thing more sick —if you backed the Dogs, that is — is the fact that Will Levis eats a banana with the peel on, and he puts mayo in his coffee. True story… and truly disgusting.
The Kyrie Factor
The biggest story during the always dramatic NBA offseason was arguably Kyrie Irving’s vaccination status. The Brooklyn Nets guard is unvaccinated against COVID-19. That might not be an issue in most places, but Irving plays in New York City, and vaccine mandates prohibit him from playing home games at Barclays Center. (He also wouldn’t be able to play in Madison Square Garden or the Chase Center in San Francisco). Considering all this, the team prohibited him from playing at all.
A seven-time All Star, Irving is hardly a scrub. So, how does his absence affect Nets betting lines? “It’s really hard to say what the impact will be,” Esposito said. If the season opener is any indication, the Nets need Kyrie like New York pizza needs cheese, as they got pounded by the Bucks and lost by 23.
The Nets, who are among the favorites to win the title, as are the apparently-ageless Lakers, still have James Harden and that Kevin Durant guy, whose big toe cost his team a chance at going to the NBA Finals last season after his three-pointer was actually ruled a two-pointer thanks to his size 18 shoes. And they say size doesn’t matter.
Lakers Upping the Ante and the Age
Speaking of the Los Angeles L-AARP-kers, they’ve got a new look this year, adding Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard and Wayne Ellington, all of whom have at least 33 years of tread on their tires. One could argue, and Esposito does, that the Lakers didn’t address their need for perimeter shooting, which was one of the team’s downfalls last season.
“Westbrook, it’s a questionable fit,” Esposito said, “They really could have used guys that were more three point shooters, so I think that’s an interesting dynamic.”
The new-look Lake Show didn’t get a win on opening night of the NBA, falling to the reinvigorated Warriors. Still, LeBron and the amigos are the most popular team among bettors in the futures market. Many bettors are also playing (Lonzo) Ball with the Chicago Bulls, as they’re a tremendously trendy pick to win it all.
Other than a handful of teams, a boatload of NBA squads are getting dismissed by bettors like Ben Simmons at a 76ers practice.
Top Line Trouble
With just left a couple of games under their belt, are the Golden Knights already in trouble?
In addition to getting waxed by the Kings, they haven’t looked like world beaters. More troubling, though, is that two of their top line players are ailing. Max Pacioretty, who led the team in scoring last season, broke his foot during that not-so-golden Kings shellacking; Captain Mark Stone, who led the team in points last season, was also injured and expected to miss a few games; Alex Tuch is also out for the first half of the season. Esposito even argues that the absence of former face-of-the-franchise Marc-Andre Fleury is hurting the team, saying goaltender depth and team chemistry are a question mark.
The healthy Knights teams might be a solid late season bet. “They’re definitely struggling coming out of the gate,” Esposito said. “There’s definitely going to be some growing pains this year, but it’s a really, really long season and no reason to hit the panic button yet.”
Here’s to hoping our favorite Vegas Born team can improve and deliver another great season in year five.
Fall Classic and the Final Four
Who’s going to win the World Series? Who knows. The Boston Red “Hot” Sox looked like they were never going to lose again, which is incredibly unexpected because of its bullpen, as it has the capacity to have more leaks than Julian Assange’s laptop. In Game 4, that’s exactly what happened, when the bullpen gave up seven runs in the 9th inning (and gave under bettors an inexplicable bad beat in the process.)
Prior to tying up the series with the 9th inning windfall, the Astros had been getting drubbed so badly by Boston that they probably felt like banging their own heads into a garbage can. The series is highly competitive and even higher scoring, but the Astros have a much better top end rotation than Beantowners.
Over in the National League, Atlanta had been chopping down Los Angeles pretty good until Cody Bellinger went all Kirk Gibson and saved the day in Game 3 (but without the limp, fist pumps or iconic Vin Scully voice calling the game.)
“I suspect we’re going to see a lot of Dodger backing in the next couple games,” Esposito said. “I really think with the last four teams remaining they’re all live right now.”
Housekeeping
There’s still time left to take advantage of the $500 bonus from Station Casinos. Users have until Oct. 31 to create new STN Sports Mobile account. A bonus of up to $500 will be deposited into user’s account based on their initial deposit and the amount wagered within 30 days.
Bets To Know
The Pro Basketball season has just tipped off. Think you have a hot take on who will win the championship when it’s all said and done?
STN Sports offers odds on every team to win the Pro Basketball Championship. It’s a long-lead bet that you can ride all season long to make everything a lot more interesting.
Favorites like the Nets and Lakers are a safe bet, but teams like the Heat, Nuggets, Hawks, Mavericks, Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, and many more could have you cashing huge payouts relative to your bets.
STN Sports Weekly Winners
