Monday Morning Gambler: Bet the Golden Knights to Win It All? You Better Shop Around

By Dan Behringer of LVSportsBiz.com

The Vegas Golden Knights’ playoff fight is already underway. And you want to bet the future odds for them to win the Stanley Cup?

You better shop around because futures prices vary.

At DraftKings, prior to the Vegas Golden Knights-Minnesota Wild game on Sunday, the Knights were an attractive +550. At FanDuel, the price was the same: +550.

Vegas Insider also the Knights at +550. A website known as The Spread.com (making sports more interesting since 1999) opened the VGK at 15-1 and had them as +450 prior to Sunday’s game.

William Hill had the Las Vegas team at +350, according to a post on their website.

 

At Station Casinos, the price has fluctuated. Before the end of the regular season, it was a mere +280. Before Sunday’s game, it jumped to +325.

You can imagine that properties both on- and off-the-Strip had varying prices, too. And obviously, most oddsmakers adjusted their prices after Game 1 of the Wild-Golden Knights series. The Wild won that game on Sunday in overtime, 1-0, paying Minnesota backers at about +145. At Station properties, the futures number edged up to +350. A new post at Bleacher Report had the price at +600.

But again: Whether it’s $10, $100 or $1,000 (or any other amount), it pays to shop around when it comes to futures bets.

Elsewhere:

— A lively crowd was on hand Saturday at Red Rock Resort for the 146th running of the Preakness. A dramatic crescendo of sound from race fans rocked the book as the horses bolted out of the gate, and the sound swelled again as two favorites, Medina Spirit and Midnight Bourbon, dueled down the stretch. But No. 6 Rombauer flew past both of them for the win. 

He paid bettors $25.60, $10 and $5.20. Rombauer’s win also netted $600,000 from the purse for owners John and Diane Fradkin. The Belmont Stakes goes June 5.

— Stormy start: The Las Vegas Aces were smoked by the Seattle Storm, 97-83, in their season debut on Saturday. That may have come as a shock to Aces bettors, who were laying -1 for the game. The Storm led at halftime, 49-40, and won every quarter except the fourth. The total went easily over 166.5.

“Within our locker room and our huddles, we have to come together and figure it out,” reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson told reporters after the game. 

For Aces bettors, hopefully soon. They play the Storm again on Tuesday, then open at home at Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay against the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday. Vegas Insider again has the Aces favored, at -1.5, for Tuesday’s game vs. the Storm. The total is 168.

— Flying low: The Las Vegas Aviators haven’t been kind to bettors recently. They finally snapped a three-game losing streak (during which they scored 12 runs) on Sunday and beat the division leading Reno Aces, 4-1 as a plus-money underdog.

They have two more games Monday and Tuesday vs. the Aces before returning to the Las Vegas Ballpark for a six-game series that opens Thursday vs. the Salt Lake City Bees. They are +130 with the total at 12.5 for Monday’s game.

— Rory McIlroy (+1100), Justin Thomas (+1300), Jon Rahm (+1400), Jordan Speith (+1400) and Bryson DeChambeau (+1500) are among the favorites for the PGA Championship that tees off Thursday at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. You can bet Las Vegan Collin Morikawa at about +2800.

— Laugher of the week: If you laid 10.5 with the Phoenix Suns vs. the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA on Saturday, you likely enjoyed watching the Suns roll to an easy 140-103 win. That was a cover by 26.5 points — easily one of the laughers of the week.

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