By Daniel Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
It was a seemingly normal Saturday afternoon at a locals casino in western Las Vegas.
Except of course for the mandatory temperature check and that virtually all employees and patrons were wearing facemasks.
It was the day of UFC251 at the Suncoast and the race and sportsbook was quiet. The prelims for the event were underway on several monitors. One masked ticket writer was at her station in the sportsbook but there was no line. Occasionally there would be a cry of “Cocktails!” from a server on the nearby casino floor.
And there was no hot dog cart in sight.
It was sharp contrast from a typical Saturday in July that would have seen several ticket windows open and customers at least two or three deep jostling to get down cash wagers on everything from Major League Baseball to NASCAR. And you might have to wait a minute for the staffer on the hot dog cart.
Still, it was something. And the more people wear masks and the more testing isolates cases, the better the chances are for Las Vegas returning to something resembling normalcy sometime in the future.
Several hours later, Kamaru Usman had dominated Jorge Masvidal in the welterweight main event of UFC 251. Judges unanimously scored the fight 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46 for Usman as he successfully defended his title for the second time. The website MMA Fighting said Usman “showcased a suffocating game plan and grappling dominance.”
From a betting standpoint, Usman was around -300 in the match from “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, an 11-hour time difference from Las Vegas.
It was another good day for betting UFC “chalk.” Favorites went 11-2 and over/under went 10-3, according to Vegas Insider.
Elsewhere:
— The first games of the compacted, 60-game Major League Baseball season are 10 days away. As of this writing, the New York Yankees and their listed starting pitcher, Gerrit Cole, are -128 at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. The Washington Nationals, who will host the game from Nationals Park in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C., are +118. Max Scherzer is on track as the starter for the home team with the first pitch at 4:08 p.m. PDT on July 23.
The total is 7 at the SuperBook. However, both FanDuel and DraftKings have the total at 7.5. The “computer” at CBS SportsLine rates over 7.5 as an A-rated play.
A few hours later, Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers are -300 at home at Dodger Stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of L.A. vs. the San Francisco Giants and Johnny Cueto as the listed starter at +260.
The total is 7.5 at the SuperBook. Over 7.5 is a B-rated pick by the “computer” at CBS SportLine.
Clearly, the “computer” envisions runs being scored in both games.
— The New Orleans Pelicans are now 2.5-point favorites at home vs. the Utah Jazz for the NBA’s opening day on July 30, according to the SuperBook. The total is 219.5.
In the second game of the TNT double-header, the Los Angeles Lakers are now 1.5-point favorites over the Los Angeles Clippers. The total has been bet down from 220.5 to 217.5.
— The Vegas Golden Knights face the Dallas Stars on Aug. 3 in the first game of an NHL round robin in Edmonton, Alberta, to determine Western Conference seeding. Vegas Insider lists the Golden Knights at -125, the Stars at +115 and the total at 5.5.
— The New Orleans Saints remain 4.5-point favorites vs. the Las Vegas Raiders for the inaugural NFL Monday Night Football game from Roomba Stadium, aka Allegiant Stadium, on Sept. 21. The total is 50.5.
— There could be further aftershocks in college football after the Big Ten said it would eliminate nonconference games in football and several others sports. The Pac-12 followed suit a day later. As The Associated Press reported, a conference-only schedule also allows schools’ athletic departments to cut travel and other expenses amid budget constraints triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
The AP, citing Dr. Patrick Rishe, director of the sports business program at Washington University in St. Louis, noted that non-Power Five schools will collectively lose anywhere from $110 million to $150 million in revenue from guaranteed payments by Power Five schools because of a conference-only slate.
Covers.com reported that futures odds for the FBS playoffs have come down or did not exist at some sportsbooks. However, the Suncoast, which is operated by Boyd Gaming, still had futures odds for the College Football Playoffs in the computer system as of Saturday.
Daniel Behringer is a long-time Las Vegan. Follow posts at doublegutshot.com. On Twitter, @DanBehringer221