On Sports Betting: Las Vegas Aces Tease Bettors With Winning Streak, Then Disappoint
By Daniel Behringer for LVSportsBiz,com
If you’ve been betting on the Las Vegas Aces, you’ve been cashing tickets. Until recently.
The Aces beat the defending champion Washington Mystics on Wednesday, 83-77. A’ja Wilson and Danielle Robinson each scored 20 points, and Angel McCoughtry made a 3-pointer to ignite a 7-0 fourth quarter run and give the Las Vegas team the lead for good, The Associated Press reported.
The Aces were around +2.5 for the game. They opened at +145 on the money line at Circa before closing at +125. Here’s a photo of the Circa hotel-casino under construction in downtown Las Vegas.
The total came in well under 176.5.
That win left the Las Vegas team 4-1 ATS after games began in the isolation zone or “bubble” at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Most sports bettors would be ecstatic with cashing tickets at that percentage rate.
But all streaks end.
Two days later, the Aces defeated the Los Angeles Sparks, 86-82, but failed to cover -5. That dropped their record to 4-2 ATS — not great but still enough for sports bettors to be profitable. Under was also 4-2 at that point.
On Sunday, bettors playing the Aces pushed the line from around -11.5 to -13.5 in their game vs. the New York Liberty. But the “steam” was on the wrong side.
The Aces won a closely contested game in the final minutes, 78-76, as Wilson made the game-winning basket. But covering -13.5 was never in play. However, the total came in under again. Make that 4-3 ATS for the Aces and 5-2 for under the total.
Elsewhere:
— The Vegas Golden Knights are also on a streak that has been paying off for bettors. The Golden Knights defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 4-3, in overtime on Saturday to lock up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The VGK were even money for the game.
It was the third straight win for the VGK since the playoffs begin. They defeated the Dallas Stars, 5-3, on Aug. 3 at anywhere from -128 to -145 and then beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-4, on Thursday at around -115.
The total went over in each of the three wins.
If you bet the VGK way back on Aug. 3 and rolled your ticket over on each of the successive wins, you can buy a round when Las Vegas bars reopen. We’re already thinking a shot and a beer for the occasion.
“We wanted the first seed after the round robin and we got it done,” Jonathan Marchessault told The Associated Press.
Mission accomplished.
The VGK will next play the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the playoffs that opens Tuesday. They are about -250 to win the best-of-seven series.
— Heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis beat Aleksei Oleinik in a second-round TKO in the main event at UFC Fight Night main on Saturday at UFC Apex in southwest Las Vegas.
Lewis extended his winning streak to three and is ranked No. 4 in the heavyweight division, according to the Score. He was a huge favorite, in the -260 to -270 range.
Next up from UFC Apex is UFC 252 this Saturday. Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic are each -110 in the heavyweight championship event. Total rounds is 2.5 with over at -160 and under offering +140.
— Las Vegan Collin Morikawa won the PGA Championship on Sunday with a 6-under 64. Morikawa, who played his college golf at the University of California, Berkley, was about +2800 to earn the Wanamaker Trophy. At 23, he is the third youngest winner of the tournament in the stroke play era.
— Another Las Vegan, Danielle Kang, won the Marathon LPGA Championship on Sunday with a final round of 3-under 68. Kang, 27, was the favorite at anywhere from +600 to +700 and collected the crystal cup after Lydia Ko at around +4100 collapsed down the stretch. It was Kang’s second win this month.
