By Daniel Behringer
LVSportsBiz.com
We could almost see the emeraldlike grass and the freshly watered infield and hear the pennants snapping in the breeze over the scoreboard at Wrigley Field as the Pittsburgh Pirates were prepared to take on the Chicago Cubs in the Cubs’ home opener.
Even more important, we had a small bet in the home team. We saw an opening price of -117, which looked very reasonable. By the time we were able to access an account, the price had jumped to -135. Undaunted, we punched in some numbers.
Too late. In mid-transaction, the price had jumped again, this time to -145. Apparently we weren’t the only ones who liked the Cubs that day.
We accepted the new line, completed the transaction and were pleased to see the Cubs jump out to a 6-0 lead in the second inning.
We weren’t actually in box seats or bleachers for the game. We were, however, tuned into MLB.com, where you get a detailed play-by-play account. The only thing missing was a Ball Park hot dog generously slathered with mustard. That gets a little messy, however, when you’ve hovered over MLB.com while trying to do some work on a computer.
The Cubs went on to route the Bucs that day, 10-0, so it was a good day.
Along with nearly everyone else, we also tuned into the NCAA men’s championship game on Monday night and viewed a closely contested affair between Virginia and Texas Tech. The total, which hung stubbornly at around 118, was hotly debated across betting sites and social media. After a sluggish start, someone on social media posted that she had jumped one an in-game total over 108 while keeping a previous ticket for under 118.5.
The game was eventually decided in overtime with the Cavaliers downing the Red Raiders, 85-77, and covering a line of -1.5.
But with NCAA men’s basketball finally decided, there was another home opener on Tuesday night. This time it was the newly rebranded Las Vegas Aviators in the newly built $150 million Las Vegas Ballpark. The game was apparently sold out but we managed to find a local shop that offered us a betting ticket on the home team at a reasonable -120. In fact, a seat before MiLB.com might have been preferable considering the chilly evening, the hat-ripping winds and $9 brewskies.
Regardless, the Aviators inaugurated the new stadium with a 10-2 over the Sacramento River Cats. Would you keep the ticket as a souvenir? Or treat it like anything else and cash it in?
We elected to cash it in and invest in the Vegas Golden Knights to win the first-round series against the San Jose Sharks. The -115 series price seemed like a reasonable investment and still does even though the Knights lost the first game of the series on Wednesday to the Sharks, 5-2.
Meanwhile, the Aviators won again on Wednesday, beating the River Cats, 5-1.
The next day, we scanned the Major League baseball board for early games on getaway Thursday. The St. Cardinals, which had had their way with the Los Angeles Dodgers, were again home underdogs. The Oakland A’s, which had been dominating the low flying Baltimore Orioles, went off as -150 favorites, and the hot-starting, hot-hitting Seattle Mariners were -143 vs. the Kansas Royals. We briefly considered parlaying the Cardinals, A’s and Mariners but were distracted by other events.
Nonetheless all three teams continued their winning ways. A black-chip bettor who punched in a parlay would have pocketed $534.41. Not a bad payday for taking in some daytime baseball.
Which reminds us of our favorite Newtonian-like law on baseball: A team in motion that is winning tends to stay in motion. A team at rest that is losing tends to continue to rest. It’s something we keep in mind as baseball drones on.
Also on Thursday, the Aviators again beat the Sacramento River Cats, 11-3, to sweep the series. The betting price has held steady, in the -120 range. And on Friday, laying -110 at one book with a total of 11, they took the opening game of the series with the Fresno Grizzlies, 9-8.
There was also a good opportunity for Vegas Golden Knights bettors on Friday. The VGK were +115 to knot their series with the San Jose Sharks, and they delivered with a 5-3 win.
By Saturday, sports bettors had a cornucopia of opportunities, from baseball to NBA and the NHL. You know sports is huge when an NHL game is on NBC and an NBA game is on ABC during prime time. And yes, a bet on the Las Vegas Aviators paid one more time as the Aviators won again, 6-2.
The same rich opportunities presented themselves again on Sunday. But for pure drama and emotion, it was hard to top the finish by Tiger Woods to win his fifth Masters golf jacket. And regular readers of these posts surely remember our post from last week when we noted that Woods was 14-1 to win. By now, of course, everyone has heard the story of the sports better who did indeed bet Woods at 14-1 at a William Hill book on the Strip. But it wasn’t lunch money, it was $85,000, which turned into a $1.19 million payday — before taxes.
Sunday was worth noting for other reasons. The VGK, laying -150, took a 2-1 lead in their series against San Jose with a 6-3 win. And the Aviators’ five-game winning streak was finally snapped when the Triple A affiliate of the Oakland A’s lost to the Fresno Grizzlies, 6-5, on a sunny, 74-degree afternoon at the Las Vegas Ballpark.
But if you had been riding the Aviators winning streak, you had a great run.
A team in motion indeed.
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