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STN Sports Weekly Rundown

November 9, 2022

Key Football Losses Give Sportsbooks A Weekend W

The Raiders, Packers and Tennessee Volunteers all lost, and all three were heavily bet by guests, giving the books a winning weekend. “Having the Raiders get beat as small favorites was a really good outcomes for us,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Race and Sports Book Director. “The Packers losing was huge. And Tennessee losing was big.”

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 diamond, on the STN Sports App and at the Station Casinos Race and Sports Books.

The Latest With The Pigskin
Despite the Raiders failures — having notched victories in only two of eight games — guests are continuing to back them. And, all signs point to bettors heavily leaning on them like a concert guardrail again this week, as the Silver and Black play the Colts, who are in a free fall and hired Jeff Saturday as the interim head coach. Saturday has as much NFL coaching experience as a Monday morning quarterback at the office water cooler.

“This Colts team seems to be in total disarray,” Esposito said, noting that the Raiders opened as a six-point favorite, but the number has moved up. In addition to the stunning coaching change, Jonathan Taylor’s availability is in question. “Although they’re 3-5-1, the Colts are arguably one of the worst teams in the league,” Esposito said. Fair warning: Espositopredicts that line will continue to move up, so if you like the Raiders, get them now.

Josh Allen Troubles
In a game that could have major playoff implications, a major question remains: Will Josh Allen play? On Nov. 13, the 7-1 Vikings (perhaps the least-talked about 7-1 team ever) head to Buffalo to take on the Super Bowl favorite Bills. Right now the Bills are a moderate favorite, but Esposito admits the line would be higher if we knew for sure that Allen would play. It would also be lower if we knew for sure that Allen won’t play.

“It’s kind of in the middle,” he said. Should Allen be out with an elbow injury, the drop-off might not be as dramatic as people think, as Case Keenum is the backup and someone who knows Minnesota all too well… Let’s just hope he doesn’t keep Taylor Swift’s red scarf. Anyway, Keenum is a former starter and very capable backup (Minneapolis Miracle, anyone?) From a betting standpoint in this particular game, Esposito said that difference between Allen and Keenum is about four points.

“Had they been going to an inexperienced rookie quarterback, I think you would’ve seen more of a touchdown adjustment,” the oddsmaker said.

Books Were Bulldog Fans
Rocky Top hit its bottom against the reigning National Champions. It’s pretty rare that the public is betting against Georgia as a single-digit favorite, but here we are. They did just last weekend with the Bulldogs hosting Tennessee. “We had taken some big bets on Georgia, but overall we clearly were Bulldog fans,” Esposito said. “There was a tremendous amount of love for Tennessee on Saturday, so it was a good outcome for us. Over the last two years I don’t think there were many instances that we were cheering for Georgia.”

Bettors also favored Stanford and Alabama big, both of whom lost. The public did incredibly well in the TCU/Texas Tech game. The Red Raiders were within the number for the vast majority of the game, but then TCU pulled away. Because of three particular marquee games last weekend — Tennessee/Georgia, Clemson/Notre Dame and Alabama/LSU — Saturday garnered one of the largest handles of the college football season so far.

Last Man Standing Update
Through nine weeks of the NFL schedule, just 10 entrees remain active in Station Casinos’ Last Man Standing competition (The contest began with 6,284 entrees.) Prior to the past weekend of football, 22 entrees were still valid, so more than half of the valid entrees were booted like a Justin Tucker field goal. Over in the college version of the Last Man Standing competition, six entrees were knocked out last weekend, leaving only eight active participants. That contest started with 2,908 hopeful entrees. Only a precious few remain!

Wonderful World Series
Another World Series is in the books, and what was expected happened. The Houston Astros were among the favorites to win the Fall Classic all season long, and they brought home the goods last weekend. The Philadelphia-Houston World Series also brought a lot of action to Station Casinos.

“The handle was really good,” Esposito said. While Houston was good all year long, Philly struggled early on. Because of that, one might think bettors went all in on the ‘Stros. “We actually needed the Astros in Games 5 and 6,” Esposito said. Philly’s offense was really good, but Houston’s pitching was even better. Heck, even the fan who tossed a beer can at Ted Cruz’s head during the Astros championship parade threw a strike.

Knight Knight!
What are the Knights doing here? Most pundits and even some fans projected the Vegas Golden Knights to have a down year in 2022-2023, especially based on the questions pertaining to goaltending, but something funny happened: They’re off to their best start in franchise history (yes, even better than the Stanley Cup year.) VGK has the most points in the NHL. “Bettors are backing the Knights. They’re getting great goaltending, really good defense, and they’re one of the top teams in the league,” Esposito said. “If they stay healthy, the way they’re playing right now, this is the team I think that everybody envisioned.”

From a totals standpoint, VGK is in the middle, with seven unders, six overs and one push. Tuesday night’s over (and win!) against the Maple Leafs was one of those overs. The Leafs normally have a potent offense but Tuesday notwithstanding, they are crushing the unders. The Jets have also been an under machine. On the flip side, Blue Jackets and Canucks games are going over more often than a passenger on the Carnival Cruise line. Ya know, something to keep in mind while betting NHL.

Bets To Know
College Basketball has officially begun, and all the games are available on the STN Sports App! Can Kansas repeat? Can UNC make another run? How many Kentucky and Duke players will be one-and done? Take a look at our menu, constantly updated with the latest props and futures.

Weekly Winners
Well, when you bet big, you can win big. One STN bettor did some real damage at the counter in college betting last weekend, plopping down a $50,000 bet on Georgia, a $50,000 bet on TCU and a $50,000 bet on Stanford. They went 2-1… a nice little Saturday.