On Sports Betting: Lighter Moment Punctuates Week of Sports Betting

Someone said they had a bet on the New York Giants, getting three points against the San Francisco 49ers.

“But I didn’t realize they were playing the 49ers,” the bettor said. “That’s my team.”

Someone else advised taking the ticket back and exchanging it.

“Tell them you made a mistake,” the person advised, explaining the book will sometimes switch sides on the ticket if the odds are unchanged. Apparently, they did.

The bettor came with a new ticket, this time with the 49ers laying three points. All so the bettor could root for her favorite team.

We hope the ticket-switcher enjoyed the game since the New York Giants won outright, defeating the 49ers, 27-23.

By Wednesday, there was a cornucopia of choices on the board at race and sports books across the Las Vegas Valley — everything from NBA to NHL and college basketball and college football.

We are always cautious about the NBA. The ever-popular Vegas Golden Knights were laying as much as -180 at home after a lackluster road trip and responded with a 5-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks.  And the MAC football games inspired about as much interest as the buffet line at an off-off-Strip casino.

We did take a look at late basketball and were briefly tempted by the San Diego Aztecs laying 16.5 against lowly Texas Southern. We decided to just watch the game, however, but took note when San Diego throttled Texas Southern 103-64. With so many early season basketball games on the board, a savvy bettor who does some research can certainly find opportunities.

We had a similar reaction on Thursday, not seeing any particularly great angles on the Thursday Night Football game between the Green Bay Packers, who went into the game at 4-4, the Seattle Seahawks, who entered the contest with an equally uninspired 4-5 record. The Seahawks prevailed 27-24, a push a most books, and the total edged over 49.5.

The Golden Knights were again heavy favorites on Friday vs. the St. Louis Blues, but this time is was the underdog bettors who cashed at as much as +140 as St. Louis took down the home team, 4-1.

By Saturday, we usually have several games circled that we might be tempted to invest in.  We were intrigued by UNR laying 14.5 against lowly San Jose State. We also agreed with some touts who saw value in Syracuse +10.5 vs. Notre Dame. But we merely relaxed, ordered an Irish coffee with whipped cream, and watched a few games play out on the monitors. We saw a few games in snow, which is fun to watch and adds another wrinkle to the handicapping equation.

Keeping our bankroll in the pocket turned out to be a wise decision. UNR won, 21-12, but failed to cover. And Notre Dame stormed to a 36-3 win over Syracuse.

We also noted No. 1 Alabama failed to cover a ridiculously high -53.5 line against Citadel, and Clemson did not cover -30 vs Duke. In fact, ‘bama’s fabled first-half cover streak came to abrupt end with the score tied at 10 at halftime. Among other top-five ranked teams, Michigan failed to cover -28 in a 31-20 win over Indiana, and Georgia rolled over UMass 66-27 but failed to cover -41.5.

In hindsight, you could have profitably played against the top five-ranked teams and enjoyed an Irish coffee as well.

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By Sunday of Week 11 in the NFL, the usual slate of games was underway. Though the anticipated shootout on Monday Night Football between the L.A. Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs, with the total set at 63.5, appeared to the be the marquee game of the week. The Raiders’ 23-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals as -4.5 ‘dogs wasn’t the biggest upset of the week, but it elicited a brief but thunderous cheer in one of the local books of “Rrraiders!” We suspect the group cheering was equally divided between fans and bettors on the side and money line, but we have no evidence to confirm our theory.

We were genuinely intrigued by the VGK at Edmonton and considering the Knights’ unimpressive road record looked at the Oilers at even money as a reasonable proposition. We were prepared to make the wager, but couldn’t get to the window in time for the 5 p.m. start.

Another bet saved: The Knights erupted in a fusillade of goals and sunk the Oilers, 6-3.

Which just goes to show if it really comes to go big or go home, it’s often wise to just go home.