On Sports Betting: Vegas Golden Knights 6/1 to Win Stanley Cup
By Dan Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
Boxing is back.
Promoter Bob Arum plans to stage a card of five fights June 9 at the MGM Grand, according to The Associated Press. As planned, it would be the first of several fights over the next two months at the Strip hotel. A second fight card will be held two nights later. ESPN plans to televise both cards.
Like most sporting events now, no fans will be allowed. According to the news service, fighters and everyone else will be tested at least twice during fight week for the new coronavirus.
So you want to bet on the fights? It’s a little early for that.
Arum did not say who would be fighting on June 9, The AP reported, saying ESPN will make the announcement after the fights are OK’d. But he also said the cards would feature the same caliber of fighters who were on ESPN before coronavirus pandemic caused the sports shutdown.
The Nevada Athletic Commission, which meets May 27, must approve.
According to the news service, Arum said fighters and cornermen will be tested when they arrive in Las Vegas before the fight. Their home will a ”bubble” floor of the massive 6,852-room MGM Grand at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. They will be allowed out only to eat at an approved restaurant in the hotel or to train at the Top Rank gym.
Jim Murren, former MGM CEO who now leads a state task force dealing with the virus, is being praised by Arum for ensuring enough tests for fighters, judges, commissioners and anyone else involved. He said 60-70 people may be tested on fight day itself, using tests that can give results in a couple hours, The AP reported.
Elsewhere:
— Ready to bet on the NHL hockey playoffs? The Westgate Las Vegas has posted odds on the Stanley Cup should the season resume in July. The ever-popular Vegas Golden Knights are 6/1 along with the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning should the season resume. Much farther down the list, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Montreal Canadians are 100/1.
Betting odds were posted after the executive board of the National Hockey League Players’ Association OK’d a 24-team “return to play” format for the restart of the 2019-20 season. As ESPN reported, this was not a vote on whether to return to the ice to complete the 2019-20 season. Instead, it was a vote for a format if that happens. The website noted that the decision to actually return would require an entirely different conversation about locations, accommodations, testing and safety measures.
— The team of Tiger Woods/Peyton Manning defeated Phil Mickelson/Tom Brady 1-up on Sunday at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida. Woods/Manning were 3-up through 10, but Mickelson/Brady made it competitive down the stretch. If you were holding a virtual ticket on Woods/Manning at -225 or so, your winning wager should already be in your account. Even if you had the other side in the +180 range, you probably got your entertainment’s worth with the match on live television and social media buzz throughout.
“The Match: Champions for Charity” raised $20 million to assist various coronavirus-related relief efforts. PGA Tour Golf returns June 13-14 with the Charles Schwab Challenge.
— Also over the weekend, Brad Keselowski held off seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson in overtime to win the Coca-Cola 600. The race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., began in daylight and went through dusk and twilight before finishing in the darkness of early Monday.
Keselowski paid bettors about 8/1.
Chase Elliott, who was 9/1, was leading and coasting to the win when his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron spun with a tire issue, and a caution flag came out. When Elliott pitted, Keselowski gained the front spot for the restart, according to NASCAR.com.
Hours after the race, NASCAR disqualified Johnson because his Chevrolet failed post-race inspection.
Keselowski celebrated by waving an American flag out the window of his Penske Ford vehicle while he did a burnout. Considering the circumstances of his win, bettors might have been celebrating, too.
— Gilbert Burns faces former champion Tyron Woodley on UFC Fight Night 176 in a welterweight match on May 30 at the UFC APEX facility near the 215 Beltway in south Las Vegas. Woodley is a -180 favorite while Burns is a +155 ‘dog , according to CBS Sports, which cited odds from William Hill.
Also, Augusto Sakai and Blagoy Ivanov are both -110 in what CBS Sports called a matchup of heavyweight prospects.
Katlyn Chookagian is +110 vs. Antonina Shevchenko -150 in the women’s flyweight.
Nevada Athletic Commission approval is also need for the event to be held.
