By Dan Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
That line of people you saw late Saturday night and early Sunday at your local race and sports book was for elated bettors cashing tickets on Dustin Poirier.
Poirier defeated Conor McGregor by doctor stoppage after McGregor sustained a broken lower leg bone in the waning seconds of Round 1 of their lightweight bout at of UFC 264. McGregor was taken by stretcher from the octagon and Poirier declared a winner by TKO in their widely hyped “trilogy” fight before more than 20,000 fans and a sprinkling of celebrities at T-Mobile Arena.
Poirier was generally around -125 for the lightweight bout. Under 2.5 rounds at -140 also paid.
UFC ring master Dana White is already promoting a fourth fight (“quadrilogy”?) between the two. “The fight didn’t get finished,” White told reporters.
McGregor was more colorful. “I was boxing the bleedin’ head off him, kicking the bleedin’ leg off him,” he shouted. “This is not over! If we have to take this outside for him, we’ll take it outside.”
It was another good day for betting UFC favorites, who went 10-2, according to Vegas Insider.
Elsewhere:
— Turn the volume up: There were piercing shrieks and screams from the Red Rock Resort race and sports book on Sunday that would rival the NFL playoffs for noise. The reaction was from hyped soccer fans and bettors who watched Italy stun England 3-2 in a penalty shootout to claim the European Championship. England had been about a -120 favorite with Italy +105.
— Squares rule: Favorite bettors also had a fairly easy time of it in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Phoenix Suns covered -2 for the first quarter, -3.5 for the first half and -6 for the game en route to a 118-105 win. In fact, the -6 dropped to -4.5 after news broke that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo would play. The total went over 219.
Easy pickings? In fact, the Suns in Game 2, this time again around -4.5 with the total bet up to 221, paid bettors one more time as they cruised to a 118-108 win. For squares playing the favorite and the over, it doesn’t get much better. And they say NBA translates to No Betting Allowed.
Game 3 paid those who follow the ZigZag Theory and switched their bets to the at-home Milwaukee Bucks. Laying -4.5, the Bucks overcame a slow start (they failed to cover -3 at -120 for the first quarter) to win 120-100 and cover on Sunday. The total of 220 was a push.
Game 4 will be Wednesday. Expect a similar betting line for the side and the total.
— Dog days: That was the high-priced Los Angeles Dodgers who dropped three of four to the lowly Florida Marlins last week. The Marlins paid bettors, respectively, +120, +126 and +150, in games played Tuesday through Thursday. The team with the highest payroll in Major League Baseball did respond later in the week with an offensive outburst in routing the Arizona Diamondbacks, 22-1, on Saturday. However, they were -340 for that game and around -150 on the run line. They also rallied to beat the Snakes again on Sunday, 7-4, with three runs in the eight and another three in the ninth but were heavy -300 favorites.
— The Phoenix Mercury outscored the Las Vegas Aces, 26-21, in the fourth quarter on Wednesday to send the game into overtime. And the Mercury outscored the Aces, 15-6, again in overtime to pull off the upset in the WNBA. The Aces were -10.5 favorites, which meant the Mercury covered by 19.5 points.
If you were looking for the Aces to rebound in their game Friday vs. the Minnesota Lynx, you were sorely disappointed. Laying -5 vs. the Lynx, the Aces stumbled again and lost outright, 77-67. With Liz Cambage out because of a commitment to the Australian national team for the Olympics, the Aces managed only 30 points in the second half.
“That’s probably as bad of a game as we’ve played all year long,” coach Bill Laimbeer told reporters.
On Sunday, the Aces redeemed themselves to fans and bettors with a 95-79 win over the Dallas Wings. A dominant performance in the second and third quarters helped send the total over 173. A’ja Wilson had 22 points and 13 rebounds.
“We could be better, but we could be worse,” Laimbeer told reporters. The Aces won’t return to action until Aug. 15 after the Olympic break when they host the Washington Mystics for a two-game series.
— The National League is generally around -110 and the American League even money with the total at 10.5 for Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game on Tuesday. Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani is the favorite in Monday’s home run derby at around +250. Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers is +450.