On Sports Betting: Paying the Price to Bet the Vegas Golden Knights

Early last week, we were out and about and recognized a familiar face, that of a grizzled, stubbly faced casino veteran.

“Any hockey plays today?” we inquired.

He nodded.

Notably reticent, we prodded a little further.

“Golden Knights?” we asked.

Again, he nodded.

“Anything else?” we also asked.

He shook his head. We inquired about the price and he informed us -105, which seemed like a reasonable price for an extremely popular team.

Unfortunately in this case, it didn’t turn out well for Knights backers as the Winnipeg Jets, who were -115, defeated the Knights, 4-1, on Jan. 15. As the AP reported, it was the first meeting between the teams since the VGK beat the Jets in five games in last season’s Western Conference final.

On the same day, we happened to catch a little of the chatter on an afternoon sports betting show. Last week, we not-so-gently mocked one of its “plays of the day” that went awry. So in fairness, we should note they liked the total in the Minnesota Timberwolves-Philadelphia 76ers to go over. The total moved from 232 to 234 but went over easily as the Sixers drilled the ‘Wolves, 149-107.

By Wednesday, we were huddled over NBA betting lines and circled three numbers that caught our eye: 1) Bucks at Grizzlies, under 212.5; Spurs +1 vs. the Mavericks; and over 242 in the marquee matchup of the day, Pelicans at the Warriors. Our radar appeared to be in focus that day since the total in the Bucks-Grizzlies game landed at 212, the Spurs rallied to beat the Mavs, 105-101, and the Pelicans and Warriors combined to score 287 points, the total going over in the fourth quarter with several minutes to play.

We thought briefly about starting our own tout service, then quickly thought the better of it.

Emboldened by our newfound success in the NBA, we were almost tempted to play the Oklahoma Thunder -10 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. We gave it a second thought and just watched as the Lakers, -Lebron, took down the Thunder in overtime, 138-128. You could almost argue the Lakers are a better team, -LeBron, and we leaned toward toward over 227 when the Lakers faced the Houston Rockets in a network-telecast game on Saturday. The total was bet all the way to 229.5 and slid over in regulation before it also went to overtime where the Rockets downed the Lakers, 138-134, but didn’t cover -7.

You could make a case that Saturday was a huge day on the Las Vegas sports scene with the Vegas Golden Knights hammering the Pittsburgh Penguins, 7-3 and Manny Pacquiao similarly beating up on Adrien Broner to win an overwhelming welterweight decision. In this case, if you wanted to bet the the VGK, the price was -160.  Even the UNLV men’s basketball team joined the Saturday party with a 94-65 romp over woebegone San Jose State.

Though one of the more intriguing point-spread outcomes, as noted by Vegas Insider, was a seemingly meaningless late bucket from Virginia that made the final score Duke 72, Virginia 70, in a matchup of major college powers. That left the Cavaliers, at +3.5, an ATS winner even though they, like Michigan earlier in the day, toppled from the ranks of the undefeated.

By Sunday, the story of the day was the NFL’s Conference Championships. We ventured out for the late game in the AFC and got to see (and hear) a little of what turned out to be a twin bill of overtime thrillers. In Round One, the Los Angeles Rams rallied to beat the New Orleans Saints in overtime, 26-23, in the NFC Championship Game. Round Two was the perfect night cap with the New England Patriots and ageless Captain America along with the Kansas Chiefs and their Quarterback of the Future combining for 48 points in the second half to send that game to OT before the Pats scored the final touchdown of the game to win, 37-31.

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The sound from an SRO crowd at a Las Vegas sports book is still one of the most entertaining aspects of a big game. And even if you couldn’t hear announcer Tony Romo predict what play was coming next, the collective screams, cheers and groans from a packed local sports book was a singular aural narrative.

But wait, there’s more.

There’s already drama in the Super Bowl betting line, which opened Los Angeles Rams -1, before flipping and becoming Patriots -2.

Not to mention NHL action on Jan. 21 with the Vegas Golden Knights slated to be back in action against the Minnesota Wild. If you’re still enamored of the VGK, this time the price is pegged at -175.

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