On Sports Betting: Betting on the Blues, Aviators Totals and Drama in the NBA

LVSportsBiz.com

 

Bet on the St. Louis Blues?

After they had been knocked around, 7-2, by the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final?

Well, why not. Professional hockey involves a lot of back-and-forth so why not bet on the team that has been blown out in the previous game?

If you made the bet last Monday on the Blues, you paid -115 — but you cashed a winner as the Blues rebounded and defeated the Bruins, 4-2, squaring the series at two games each. With a final score of 4-2, the total went over 5.5.

There was no professional basketball or hockey on the following Tuesday, but there was a full slate of professional baseball. And it turned out to be a fine day for the ‘dogs:

— The Miami Marlins, at +180, administered a 16-0 whipping of the Milwaukee Brewers.

— The home underdog Toronto Blue Jays, also +180, nipped the New York Yankees, 4-3. (A popular betting website made the Yankees run line their pick of the day.)

— And the Detroit Tigers, +230 at home against the Tampa Bay Rays, held on to win, 9-6.

Fortune favors the bold, and if you were audacious enough to drop a black-chip on that three-team ‘dog play, you pocketed $2,487.20.

Woof.

We were out and about on Wednesday, intrigued to see how Game 3 of the NBA Finals would play out. We invested on the Warriors on the first-quarter and first-half lines, and we weren’t the only ones interested.

“I’m curious to see how the game plays out,” the ticket writer eagerly volunteered as he punched in the numbers. The Raptors showed up in force and our first-quarter and first-half bets on the Warriors were soon history.

But we were even more intrigued by the half-time line. With Klay Thompson sidelined and the Raptors’ defense smothering the Warriors, oddsmakers make the Warriors -4 for the second half. Who really anticipated a Warriors’ comeback in the final 24 minutes? It certainly wasn’t us, and the Raptors won the second half, too, 63-57, en route to a convincing 123-109 victory.

But while a national TV audience was fixated on the NBA Finals, it was beautiful evening for baseball at the Las Vegas Ballpark. The temperature was in the high 90s as a 7 mph breeze blew out to right field, there was another big crowd on hand and the Las Vegas Aviators were -120 with the total at 14 vs. the Round Rock Express. Some 8,488 fans got to see the Express, which were even money at Station properties, pound out an 11-5 win over the home team.

On Thursday, the national sports audience turned its attention to Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Bruins were -160 and the total was 5.5, but it was Blues bettors who cashed at +140 after they upended the home team, 2-1.

Meanwhile, out at the Las Vegas Ballpark, oddsmakers had nudged the total up to 14.5 for another game between the Aviators and the Express. No matter; over was still the correct play in a 26-11 victory for the Express that saw the visiting team score 13 times in the top of the seventh — almost covering the over by itself in half an inning of offense.

There is one other score worth noting from Thursday. The Las Vegas Aces, ripped by coach Bill Laimbeer after their last performance and laying 4.5 points on the road, easily handled the Atlanta Dream, 92-69.

By Friday, it was Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Would the return of Klay Thompson make a difference in the Warriors-Raptors drama? The touts on afternoon radio certainly thought so and made the Warriors at -5 their “play of the day.”

We never seriously entertained that bet though we were a click away from small wagers on Warriors -1.5 in the first quarter and -3.5 or -4 for the first half. We also briefly tempted by the series price, which offered the Warriors at even money. Instead, we just watched as the Warriors rolled to a first-quarter lead and a 4-point first half margin before the Raptors again dug in and won their second straight game at Oracle Arena, 105-92.

And out at the Las Vegas Ballpark, oddsmakers again boosted up the total, this time to 15, as the Aviators hosted the San Antonio Missions. With cooling temperatures and swirling winds, this might have been the time to head the other way on the total. And the Aviators put away the Missions, 8-2, before a crowd of more than 10,000.

There was plenty of soccer splashed across big screens on Saturday, but we thought the marquee event of the day was the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. We found the stretch run down the 1.5-mile track thrilling, and bettors who watched the winner, Sir Winston at 10-1, outduel Tacitus probably agreed.

The weekend concluded with a bountiful Sunday betting smorgasbord of soccer, tennis and auto racing in addition to Major League baseball.

But prime time belonged to the Bruins and the Blues in Game 6. In a series marked by zigs and zags, the Bruins, at even money, defeated the Blues in St. Louis, 5-1, with the total landing on the posted number of 6.

However, the Las Vegas Aces, a -11 point road favorite at the New York Liberty, lost outright, 88-78, again posting a dismal showing in the fourth quarter. The other Las Vegas team, the Aviators, +105 in the friendly confines of the Las Vegas Ballpark, lost to the Missions, 4-1, before 7,846 fans.

What’s next?

— The Golden State Warriors try to keep their season alive Monday in Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Toronto vs. the Raptors. The money is moving toward the defending champions, who opened at +3.5 but moved to +1.5 or +2. The total is currently 214.5 in most locales.

— Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final goes Wednesday with the Bruins at home at -170, the Blues +150 and the total at 5.5.

— The Las Vegas Aces get a rematch with the New York Liberty on Friday in Las Vegas. No line at this point, but it’s likely the Aces will again be heavily favored.