By Dan Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
It all ended late Sunday night.
The strident arguments over the Los Angeles Rams vs. the Cincinnati Bengals, the countless posts from gambling analysts and touts, and the shrieking from the Las Vegas race and sports books all came to an end when the Rams edged the Bengals, 23-20.
The losers whined and grumbled or mourned their loss quietly. The winners queued up to cash their tickets.
It all ended.
It’s over — unless you have one of those cross props tied to the Vegas Golden Knights game on Wednesday. One of those props hinged on which would be greater, Rams touchdowns or VGK goals. With the Rams scoring three touchdowns, bettors will be in suspense for a couple of more days.
And the Las Vegas Raiders? You’ll find them lumped further down with the Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins at +4,000.
Super Bowl 57 will be at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 12, 2023. If you wish to punch in a reminder on your phone, the unofficial kickoff time is 3:30 p.m. PDT.
Elsewhere:
— Back to T-Mobile: The two-game road swing north of the border for the Vegas Golden Knights that saw one relatively easy win for bettors vs. the Edmonton Oilers and one embarrassing rout at the hands of the Calgary flames. The boys in the gold-toned helmets now open a brief home stand by hosting the Western Conference-leading Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, which will likely be close to “pick” at the books. The Los Angeles Kings visit T-Mobile Arena two days later.
Coach Peter DeBoer after the 6-0 loss to the Flames: “There is no excuse for how we started the game and the game. It essentially was over 20 minutes in, unfortunately.” Not good news when you’re holding a VGK betting slip.
— Improving ATS: Remarkably, the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels paid bettors twice in one week. The first time was a 78-44 whipping of the Air Force Falcons on Tuesday as 10.5-point favorites.
The second occurred on Friday night when the Rebels lost, 69-63, to Boise State but covered +8.5. UNLV led at halftime, 36-29. But the Broncos closed the game with a 9-4 run.
Coach Kevin Kruger on Boise State after the game: “They’re by far the biggest team in the league. Their wings post, their bigs post, they do a really good job of catching where they want to catch. It’s really hard on the big guys to push them out on every single play.”
The Rebels improve to 10-14 ATS and 14-11 on the season. They next travel to play Fresno State on Wednesday. Expect the Bulldogs to be short favorites.
— Selection Sunday: Like storm clouds gathering on the horizon, the madness associated with the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is approaching. Selection Sunday is roughly a month away on March 13. If you’re thinking of making a bet on who will win it all, Vegas Insider has Gonzaga at +500, Auburn +800 and Purdue +900. Duke, Arizona and Kentucky are all +1000. Much further down, Oklahoma is +20000.
— Laugher of the week: The Iowa Hawkeyes were laying 3.5 points on the road Thursday vs. the Maryland Terrapins. The Hawkeyes rolled to a relatively easy 110-87 win — a cover by 19.5 points. Feel free to share that with anyone who wants to tell you a bad-beat story.