By Dan Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
If you were anywhere near the Red Rock Resort race and sports book a little after 6 p.m. on Friday, you couldn’t miss the sound — a large, crescendo of cheers and applause.
There were Major League Baseball games underway — but it wasn’t for any baseball game.
There were NBA playoff games on several monitors — but the cheers and applause weren’t for the any pro basketball game.
There was even some kind of golf from the Golf Channel on one monitor. But cheers from golf, unless it’s a recognizable star holing out in a major, are rare.
No, the wall of sound worthy of record producer Phil Spector was unmistakably for the Vegas Golden Knights, and it was obvious to anyone listening that they had scored early in Game 7 against the Minnesota Wild.
There was more cheers every time they scored — and they lit the lamp six times en route to a 6-2 West Division Semifinal series win.
But were the cheers coming from the apparel-wearing, swag-toting fans? Or bettors with money on the line?
Probably a bit of both. VGK bettors laid anywhere from -165 to -200 for the game, and total players were eyeing the 5.5 number, which went over when the guys wearing the golden hats made it 4-2 (imagine even more cheers). The puck line on the Knights closed at around +155. And series price bettors who laid -250 and waited all seven games finally got paid. Ditto for prop players who found an attractive price for the Golden Knights to win in seven games.
Of course, all of that was quickly forgotten. The Golden Knights faced a quick turnaround and were off to play the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of the West Division Final by Sunday. This time Knights bettors were getting +160 vs. No. 1-seeded Avalanche with the total stuck at 5.5 again. Betting the series before Game 1 got you a ticket also at around +160 on the VGK.
If you haven’t been keeping up, the Avalanche buried the Golden Knights, 7-1, on Sunday. And we would imagine, the sound from around the race and sports book at game time was noticeably quieter this time.
Game 2 will be Wednesday with the betting line virtually the same.
Elsewhere:
Aces soar: The Las Vegas Aces steamrolled the Indiana Fever on Friday, 113-77, with Dearica Hamby scoring 25 points. It was the Las Vegas’s team’s highest point total in franchise history, eclipsing the 108 points scored on June 18, 2010, when they were known as the San Antonio Silver Stars, The Associated Press reported.
The Aces completely dominated the second half, 54-30. With the line at -11.5, they covered by 24.5 points.
For Sunday’s game vs. the Fever, the line moved to -13.5. No problem. The Aces covered easily again in a 103-78 win. The Aces (5-2) next play Tuesday at the Connecticut Sun (6-2).
Aviators flying under: The Las Vegas Aviators split the first four games on the road vs. the Sacramento River Cats. They generally were around even money although they were -130 on Sunday for their 9-5 win. The first three games came in under the total, but the total came down from 12.5 on Thursday to 10.5 for Sunday’s matinee.
The final games of the series are Monday and Tuesday before they open a six-game series at the Albuquerque Isotopes on Thursday.
Upcoming race: Early odds from an analyst at Vegas Insider have Essential Quality at 2/1, Preakness winner Rombaur at 3/1 and Hot Rod Charlie at 4/1 for Saturday’s running of the Belmont Stakes. If you enjoy crowd noise, the book is the place to be on race day.
Every dog bettor has his day(s): The Detroit Tigers completed a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees on Sunday with a 6-2 win. Bengals bettors who played all three games had tickets, respectively, that read +240, +115 and +160. San Francisco Giants bettors, after seeing their team lose on Thursday, also won three straight over the Los Angeles Dodgers at +185, +170 and +140, respectively.
Laugher of the week: The Philadelphia 76ers were -5.5 vs. the Washington Wizards in Game 3 on Saturday but won every quarter on their way to a 132-103 rout. In covering by 24.5 points, it was easily just one of the laughers of the week.