By Daniel Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
Sometime late Thursday afternoon when the temperature outside in Las Vegas had peaked at about 102 degrees for the day, there was a burst of applause from the race and sportsbook at Red Rock Resort.
You didn’t have to be aerospace engineer or professional sports bettor to know why. The Vegas Golden Knights had scored a goal. And fans and bettors were showing their appreciation.
The goal gave the VGK a 3-2 lead over the Chicago Blackhawks in the second game of their best-of-seven series being played in Edmonton, Alberta, where the temperature outside of Rogers Place was in the 70s.
The Blackhawks later tied the game at 3. There was no detectable applause from the race and sportbook on that tying goal.
The game was still tied at the end of regulation, but 7:13 into the OT period, Reilly Smith scored the game-winner for the Knights, triggering an even louder round of applause and the pumping of fists.
We watched a young woman wearing a Golden Knights jersey saunter away from the ticket counter and perform a celebratory jig, presumably in honor of her winning ticket on the Knights at around -200 for the game. If she had parlayed it with over 6 goals, it was an even sweeter payday.
It was the fifth straight win for the white-hot popular Knights during the reconstructed Stanley Cup playoffs. Bettors rolling over their tickets on the Knights during the current run had amassed a tidy stake. It wasn’t the only Las Vegas team that rewarded bettors for the day.
The Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA defeated the Minnesota Lynx, 87-77, handily covering -3 for the game and sending the total over 159. That left the Aces at 7-3 ATS. Over in their games is 4-6.
For the record, despite the relatively easy wins for the Las Vegas team, we had what we thought was a much better value play for the day, under 239 in the Portland Trail Blazers at the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA evening game. The Trail Blazers won, 134-133. If you’re math-challenged, 267 points does not come remotely close to being under 239.
On Saturday, the Golden Knights returned to the ice for Game 3 of their series with the Blackhawks. They edged the Blackhawks, 2-1, to keep their winning streak alive. The closing line was in the -170 range, but if you’re cashing tickets, who cares what the price is? At that point, three of the six consecutive wins also cashed on the puck line. And over paid four of six times.
However, the Knights’ winning streak came to a sudden halt on Sunday when the Blackhawks put up a valiant effort to keep the series alive and won, 3-1.
The Golden Knights have another chance to close out the series vs. the Blackhawks on Tuesday. The Knights are about -210.
Elsewhere:
— Stipe Miocic defeated Daniel Cormier by unanimous decision in UFC 252 on Saturday Night. Miocic was even money for the fight. Over 2.5 rounds at -150 was also a winning ticket.
It was another good night for betting favorites at the UFC Apex facility along the 215 Beltway in southwestern Las Vegas. Among the 11 bouts, favorites went 8-3, according to Vegas Insider.
UFC returns this at 5:30 p.m. Saturday with bantamweights Frankie Edgar and Pedro Munhoz meeting in the main event. Munhoz opened as a -250 favorite, according to Covers.com.
— The NBA playoffs begin Monday. The Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers are the shortest favorites at, respectively, +250, +250 and +270, according to Odds Shark. If you like the Memphis Grizzlies, you should be able to find them at about +40000.
— The Las Vegas Aces return to action on Tuesday vs. the Chicago Sky. No betting line as of this post.
Daniel Behringer is a long time Las Vegan. Follow posts at doublegutshot.com. On Twitter, @DanBehringer221.