Monday Morning Gambler: Golden Knights Test Bettors’ Patience With Their Bankrolls
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By Dan Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
As bettors have discovered, gambling on the Vegas Golden Knights in the early season can be hazardous to a bankroll.
Yes, the boys with the golden helmets won the season opener, beating the expansion Seattle Kraken, 4-3. Though that disappointed more than a few who had the home team on the puck line.
But the next game two days later with the Los Angeles Kings proved to be a disappointment. The Kings, who were a tempting +140, won, 4-1.
After several days off, the Golden Knights lost again, 3-1, this time to the St. Louis Blues. Oddsmakers, understanding the Golden Knights were battling a long list of injuries that would frustrate a M*A*S*H unit, had made the Blues about +105.
It wasn’t any better when Edmonton rolled into Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena on Friday night. The division leading Oilers were also about +105 and handily defeated the Golden Boys, 5-3.
By about this time, bettors playing the Vegas Golden Knights saw where their money was going. Or perhaps should have been. After Friday’s loss, the Las Vegas team was 1-3 on the season and in the highly unusual position of looking up from the absolute bottom of the Pacific Division standings. Even the expansion Kraken, with their eye-catching sea monster uniforms, were above them.
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Was anyone toasting the home team with a glass of Foley Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills from owner Bill Foley’s wine collection at that time? We’re guessing probably not.
Which led to Sunday’s game. Oddsmakers made the Golden Knights about -145 for the game vs. the New York Islanders, who like the Golden Knights were dead last in their division at the time. That line dropped to -135 on Sunday afternoon, then -130 at many shops before the puck drop.
The Islanders won the battle of cellar dwellers, 2-0, and paid bettors about +110. With Las Vegas shut out, the total easily went under 5.5.
“It sucks losing. No one likes it,” goalie Robin Lehner told the Las Vegas Sun. “But you know what, it’s a bit of adversity that this team hasn’t gone through yet, and good teams, they dig themselves out.”
The Golden Knights will get a chance to dig themselves out Tuesday at the Colorado Avalanche.
Elsewhere:
— Raiders of the shifting point spread: It was Raiders -3 vs. the Philadelphia Eagles for several days until game day on Sunday. Then the number on the Raiders dropped to -2.5. Then -2. Make it -1. At one point it was even Eagles -1 before closing at pick.
Sharp money? Not judging by the results. After spotting the Eagles an early 7-0 lead, the Raiders scored 30 unanswered points on their way to a 33-22 win. A fourth-quarter Eagles touchdown pushed the total over 49.
Suddenly, the Raiders are 2-0 and two wins ATS under new interim coach Rich Bisaccia. Jon who?
“Derek Carr is the voice of the Raiders right now,” Bisaccia told The Athletic. Carr finished 31 of 34 for 323 yards with two touchdowns.
The AFC West division-leading Raiders next play at the New York Giants on Nov. 7. A home date with the Kansas City Chiefs awaits the following week.
— Streak’s alive: The UNLV Rebels put up another valiant fight Thursday vs. San Jose State. But it was still another defeat for UNLV, 27-20. This time, however, the Rebels, who were 4-1-1 ATS for the season failed to cover +6.
“I think that our guys are down about not making those plays,” coach Marcus Arroyo said after the game. “I know we are. I know we’re crushed, to be candid.”
The Rebels were 0-for-2020 and remain 0-for-2021.
Tellingly, after leading 17-13 at halftime, the Rebels could muster only 3 points in the second half. Against Utah State a week earlier, they scored only 7 points in the second half. And in Week 5 vs. Texas-San Antonio, their only second half score was a fourth-quarter touchdown.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Rebels. Next up is Nevada Reno two days before Halloween. The Wolf Pack are -20.5 and the total is 58.
— Autumn hardball: The World Series opens Tuesday at Minute Maid Park, formerly Enron Field, on Tuesday. The Houston Astros, who won seven more games than the Atlanta Braves during the season, are generally around -145 for the series. The Braves are about +120. For Game 1, the Astros are -150 and the Braves +130.
— Lakers get a W: After going winless in the preseason, the Los Angeles Lakers got their first win of the NBA season Sunday with a 121-118 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. However, they failed to cover -5. In fact, the Lakers are 0-3 ATS in the young season. They are at the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.
— Laugher of the week: If you had the foresight to bet over the total of 53 in the Wake Forest at Army game in college football on Saturday, you got to enjoy one of the laughers of the week. The two teams put up 49 points by halftime — and they were just getting started. Some 73 points were scored in the second half as the Demon Deacons rolled to a 70-56 win. The two teams crushed the over by 73 points.
