By DANIEL BEHRINGER
LVSportsBiz.com
“So what happens on Thursday?” the guy asked late Wednesday afternoon.
Roughly 10 other people gathered around offered nothing but blank stares and mumbles.
“C’mon, that’s tomorrow. What happens tomorrow?” he asked again in earnest
Seeing the group was largely unresponsive, we volunteered an answer: “Major League Baseball.”
The guy’s eyes lit up, and he offered a fist bump.
The guy, a grizzled casino habitué, was elated about the return of baseball and confessed he already had a passel of tickets and parlays in his pocket. And he was well-informed on what teams were laying big chalk for their season openers. You could sense genuine excitement.
We wonder how many people share his enthusiasm. The books have been packed the last two weekends, but that is largely due to the NCAA basketball tournament along with NHL and NBA action.
Sure it’s great to see professional baseball back in the books’ boards. For the gambler and investor who does research and enjoy statistics and trends, baseball offers considerable potential for returns.
We also vaguely remember “Old Vegas” when you could find a 10-cent and even occasionally a 5-cent line on baseball. Those days, however, are now confined to dusty history annals, and 15- and 20-cent lines are often the rule, particularly on the Strip.
We had other thoughts on Wednesday, and they involved putting a small amount of cash on the Vegas Golden Knights, who were laying anywhere from -115 to -130 vs. the Colorado Avalanche. It seemed like an opportune spot for the VGK to get back on track. A few well-informed individuals who make it their business to be right agreed with us.
There was only one problem. We were all wrong. And the Knights lost, 4-3, their third consecutive defeat.
Planning to get our money back, which is never a good idea, we noticed late Thursday the VGK were laying -180 vs. the Minnesota Wild on Friday and made a note of the game. We also wondered what the price would be by the time we got to the window.
Meanwhile, we joined nearly everybody else on Thursday in savoring Sweet Sixteen action from the NCAA tournament.
And what games they were: Auburn knocked out No 1-seeded North Carolina, 97-80. And No. 1 overall seed Duke survived a closely contested game with Virginia Tech, 75-73.
By Friday, we had forgotten about getting our money back on the VGK, which went off as a -200 favorite. That turned out to be a good thing since the Knights lost to the Wild, 3-2. But despite losing their fourth straight game, the Golden Knights earned a playoff spot when the Arizona Coyotes lost to the Colorado Avalanche.
More NCAA tournament basketball on Saturday and another No. 1 seed, Gonzaga, fell to an opportunistic Texas Tech team, 75-69. Later, Virginia needed a buzzer-beater to send a game with Purdue into overtime before the Cavaliers survived, 80-75. And a last free throw from Virginia with only ticks remaining on the clock was hardly meaningless to bettors since they were -4.5 favorites.
Though for drama and pure fan excitement that day, you’d have to consider Bryce Harper’s first base hit as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, a 465-foot home run at Citizens Bank Park that elicited a rowdy curtain call. Too bad there was no prop bet on whether or not Harper’s first hit would be a dinger.
Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights, this time +125 ‘dogs, lost their fifth straight to the San Jose Sharks. Fans enthusiasm hasn’t abated, but bettors have seen an unusual drought of losing tickets.
Sunday was the final Elite Eight games and Auburn eliminated Kentucky, 77-71, in another game that went to overtime. Then Michigan State, which moved to +2.5 just before the tip, dropped the No. 1 overall seed Duke, 68-67, to round out the Final Four next weekend in Minneapolis.
We know the NHL has it fans.
Others have been watching and betting NBA teams jockeying for seeding in playoffs that begin April 13.
Some can’t get enough UFC action.
And baseball has diehard enthusiasts not unlike the grizzled casino veteran.
But it’s tough to match the nerve-racking, crowd-stirring, buzzer-beating, ticket-tearing, one-and-done drama of the NCAA tournament.
And there’s three more games left.