Monday Morning Gambler: Raiders Fizzle in Sunday Night Spotlight, Stiff Bettors
By Dan Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
The world was watching on Sunday night.
It was, after all, Sunday Night Football. Maybe 25 million viewers or so on NBC. Another million or so on streaming services.
Las Vegas Raiders fans.
Kansas City Chiefs fans.
Football fans of all stripes.
And bettors. Of course, bettors. Some with the Raiders +2.5 or +3. Some on the other side. Some on the money lines. Not to mention the total of 52 and a gridiron-length of prop bets.
Later on Sunday evening, the Chiefs ran away from the Raiders, 41-14, and reclaimed the top spot in the AFC West. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes, and the Chiefs outscored the Raiders 24-7 in the second half. Officially it was a cover by 24 points.
“We got in a hole and against this team that’s hard,” Raiders quarterback Derek Carr told The Associated Press. “They just play soft coverage. They get a big lead, play soft coverage, blitz here and there and make you throw in front. It’s a hard way to do it.”
ADVERTISEMENTS: Click ads for info
ADVERTISEMENTS
And all those Raiders betting slips were so much useless confetti.
Next up for the Raiders: The Cincinnati Bengals will visit Allegiant Stadium on Sunday. The Bengals are -1 with the total at 49. After that, the Raiders will visit the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day.
Elsewhere:
Paydays for Knights bettors: The Vegas Golden Knights paid bettors three times last week. On Tuesday, the Knights dispatched the Seattle Kraken, 4-2. Oddly, the money was moving toward the last expansions team. After opening around -135 on the Golden Knights, the line drifted down to -130, then -125 and even as low as -119 in some spots.
Two days later against the Minnesota Wild, the Golden Knights were -105 in many spots and responded with 3-2 win. On Saturday, the line returned to “normal” with the Golden Knights -150 vs. the Vancouver Canucks. The Knights blasted the Canucks, 7-4.
Vegas Golden Knights star Jonathan Marchessault, who scored twice, after Saturday’s victory: “Good teams find a way to win, and right now that’s what we’re doing.”
The Vegas Golden Knights (now 9-6) next host the Carolina Hurricanes (11-2) on Tuesday. The VGK are -105 with the total at 5.5.
— Rebel football on the run: Fresh off its first win since 2019 on Nov. 6, UNLV was +3.5 vs. Hawaii on Saturday at Allegiant Stadium. The Rebels responded in a big way with a 27-13 upset of the Rainbow Warriors to bring their record to 2-8 for the season. Charles Williams rushed for a career-high 266 yards and scored three touchdowns. The Rebels were as high as +150 on the money line.
Coach Marcus Arroyo after the game: “We’re turning the ball over, we’re playing ugly — we won ugly, and there’s a lot to (be gained) from that.”
The Rebels next host the San Diego Aztecs on Saturday. The Aztecs are -11 with the total at 41.
— Rebel hoops: The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels basketball program got on the board Wednesday with a 64-58 win over Gardner Webb. (If you asked, “Who?”, Gardner Webb is a private, Christian university in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Their mascot is the Runnin’ Bulldogs. They next play the nationally ranked Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday followed by a game with Carver Bible College.) Regardless, it was a loss ATS, for the Runnin’ Rebels since they were -10. The total never came close to the posted number of 145.
On Saturday, UNLV was -6.5 vs. Cal with a total of 132.5. The Runnin’ Rebels survived, 55-52. Again, the score fell well short of the total of 132.5. They are off to a 2-0 start — but are 0-2 ATS.
Guard Mike Nuga after the game to the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “Every game we go into, we have a chip in our shoulder. We were picked, what were we picked, eighth? We wear UNLV on our chest with pride.”
The Runnin’ Rebels are -4 vs. North Dakota State Bison at home Monday night with the total at 131.5. On Saturday, they welcome the nationally ranked Michigan Wolverines.
— Coming attraction: Miesha Tate is a -120 favorite over Ketien Vieira in UFC 43 Vegas on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. Viera is generally around even money women’s in the bantamweight bout on the main card.
— Mismatch of the week? The Alabama Crimson Tide were -50.5 vs. New Mexico State on Saturday in college football. One analyst suggested a shutout was possible. But when the gun sounded, the Tide won, 59-3, and did indeed cover. They also covered the halftime line of -32 or -33.
You can tell the betting world is transforming from college football to college basketball in Las Vegas race and sports books when football is one sheet and basketball is several stapled sheets.
— Futility Bowl: The winless Detroit Lions battled the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 16-16 tie after a scoreless overtime period Sunday amid bursts of driving rain before 58,716 fans at Heinz Field. The game featured four turnovers and took several hours. In case you wondered, money line bettors generally have their bets refunded in the event of a tie.
