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STN Sports Weekly Rundown
November 2, 2022
Raiders Loss Gives Book Big Boost, Plus More Sports News and Tidbits
The only thing scarier than Halloween was the Las Vegas Raiders’ performance on Sunday. The Silver and Black got absolutely manhandled by the Saints, getting blanked 24-0.
“Overall, the Raiders game saved the day for us,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Race and Sports Book Director. “We lost almost all the games we needed, but the Raiders losing outright and keeping that game under was huge for us. That game was by far the biggest game of the day.” Somehow, even in the loss, betting the Raiders was still more preferable to than taking documentary suggestions from Kyrie Irving.
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 diamond, on the STN Sports App and at the Station Casinos Race and Sports Books.
Pigskin Recap
Despite having a winning day on Sunday, the Station Sports Book had more L’s than a Chicago train system. The Book lost on the Patriots, Lions, Steelers, Bears, Texans and Giants. The aforementioned Raiders’ abysmal performance helped, as did the Packers late cover against Buffalo. “Everything was pretty much dumping into the Bills and the over,” Esposito said. “Being able to keep that under and having Green Bay cover averted anything kind of piling on, but it had all the makings of maybe one of the worst Sundays of the year.”
It’s never too early to get into the Super Bowl spirit. Like it has been all year long, the AFC vs NFC line is available for betting at Station Books and the STN Sports App. The current line shows the AFC as a decent favorite, and Esposito noted that the number is based off of Buffalo. As the Josh Allen-led Bills continue to look the the cream of the crop, the AFC number has moved up.
“Buffalo just looks like they can score at will. They’re so dynamic on both sides of the ball, and they’re hard to bet against,” he said. The NFC number is largely based off of a mishmash of teams, but largely centered on the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles. Still, it’s too early to pencil in the Phil-Bill February showdown, particularly if San Francisco and Jimmy Garoppolo keep playing like they did last week.
“Although they’re only 4-4, the 49ers are a team in the NFC that’s going to start to get some love if they start winning,” Esposito predicted. “They’re a little under the radar right now, but my opinion is they’re a team that has a chance to be playing in Arizona in the Super Bowl.” A matchup of Jimmy-Josh sounds delicious, as long as it comes with mayo and mustard and is delivered “freaky fast.”
Even before the NFL trade deadline was done, guests were eyeing next weekend’s slate and shifting lines. The Eagles spread has already ticked up, as has the Chargers line. On the flip side, guests are seemingly souring on Cincinnati after Monday night’s terrible showing and so far siding with the Panthers. The Bengals are hovering around a touchdown favorite, but the number is trending down. Cincy is struggling and doesn’t have the look of defending AFC champs. In fact, the last cats this disappointing starred James Corden.
Bad Beat Alert
On Saturday, West Virginia closed as 7.5 point underdogs against TCU. All seemed to be going well for Mountaineers backers, as TCU was up by 3 points with under 3 minutes left. For the next few minutes, TCU went on to run the ball and kill much of the clock. With just 27 seconds left, the Horned Frogs found themselves with a 4th and 1 from West Va’s 29-yard line, which is field goal range for a lot of kickers. Still, Mountaineers fans felt good when TCU shunned the field goal try in favor of going for it, as they assumed the game would end after the Horned Frogs got the first down, or the ball would be turned over on downs. But then all hell broke loose. Instead of running for a yard as many assumed, Quarterback Max Duggan went with a hard count and got West Virginia to jump offsides. In getting a “free play,” he then snapped the ball and lobbed a bomb to the end zone, which was caught for a TD. The final: 41-31. TCU covered and the total went over. Still, guests made out like bandits on that game, giving the Book a swift kick to the you-know-what.
“We were talking about just nothing crazy happening and we can put it in the win column for us,” Esposito said. “After that pass and touchdown, there was pretty much stunned silence on our side of the counter. Some games go our way like that, some don’t. That one didn’t.”
Last Man Standing Update
Through eight weeks of the NFL schedule, only 22 entrees remain active in Station Casinos’ Last Man Standing competition (The contest began with 6,284 entrees.) Prior to the past weekend of football, 39 entrees here still valid, so a bunch of guests exited the contest faster than Steve Nash at the Nets facility. Over in the college version of the Last Man Standing competition, 16 entrees were knocked out last weekend, leaving only 14 active participants. That contest started with 2,908 hopeful entrees.
True Phanatics
A little rain couldn’t stop the flood of money coming in on the World Series. “We’ve seen good two-way action on the series,” Esposito said, noting that about 62% of the Game 3 tickets were on the Astros. This World Series has been hard to gauge, as Philadelphia is bucking the trend of previous Fall Classics. “Although the postseason is usually built on pitching, this Philly team that attacked it a totally different way. They battle back. Their hitting alone has been scary good. They can hit with anybody,” Esposito said. The Astros found that out on Game 3 with a 7-0 shellacking.