[h=1]Record August for NV sportsbooks[/h][h=3]It was a great month for sportsbooks. Plus, a recap of weekend's betting action[/h]
By [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]David Purdum[/FONT] | ESPN.com
Approximately $187 million was bet on sports in August at Nevada sportsbooks, an all-time high for the month, according to Nevada Gaming Control. Bettors did not fare well.
The books won $11.37 million in August, including $10.02 million on NFL and college football combined. The month included the four weeks of the NFL preseason and Week 1 of college football.
The books held 17.38 percent of the money bet on football in August. The average annual hold percentage on football is 4-6 percent. But the last three Augusts have been exceptional for the books. They held 20.17 percent on football in 2013 and 26.95 percent in 2012.
[h=4]Nevada Gaming Control Board August Revenue Report[/h]
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Nevada Gaming Control senior research analyst Michael Lawton attributes August's higher hold percentage to lighter volume in August compared to the months during the regular season. Or perhaps, as some have suggested, the overall talent level of the bettors is at its squarest to start the football season. Regardless of the reason, August football has been kind to the books.
Bettors fared better in baseball, but not by much. The books won $3.33 million on baseball in August, a 35.9 percent decrease from August 2013. On the season, the books are up $22.13 million on baseball from April through August. Their average annual baseball win over the past five years is $24.56.
Overall, though, business is good at Nevada sportsbooks. From September 2013 through August 2014, sportsbooks won $225.6 million, a 44.49 percent increase from the previous 12-month span.
Favorites covered the spread in six of the seven early games. That's never good for the sportsbooks, which almost always end up being financially invested in the underdogs.
The Buccaneers were the only underdogs to cover in the early games. After being embarrassed by the Atlanta Falcons in the Thursday game Sept. 18, Tampa Bay responded by beating thePittsburgh Steelers 27-24 as 7.5-point underdogs. The Bucs' outright upset eliminated a ton of parlay liability that had built up with the early slew of favorites covering the spread. It was a huge swing game for the books. But there was still plenty to sweat in the afternoon games.
"We could all go away, if we don't get the Vikings," joked Jay Rood, vice president of race and sports for MGM, during the second half of the Atlanta-Minnesota game. "An outright win would be outstanding. A cover keeps us ahead."
The Vikings delivered. In the hours leading to kickoff, the point spread grew from Atlanta minus-3 to minus-6. Minnesota outscored the Falcons 14-0 in the second half to seal a 41-28 victory and help the books rest easier, heading into the night game.
"That really helped us avoid a major fire," Jason Simbal, vice president of race and sports at the CG Technology sportsbook, said of the Vikings' upset.
While the Bucs' and Vikings' upsets produced the biggest wins of the day for the books, the Green Bay Packers' beatdown of the Chicago Bears was responsible for their biggest loss. And, perhaps, we should have seen it coming.
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has the worst record against the spread of any NFL starter who has completed three seasons, at 42-63-2. He's been especially bad against the Packers. The Bears are 2-9 ATS versus the Packers with Cutler starting. Green Bay starter Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, improved to 59-38-3 ATS in the Packers' 38-17 win over Chicago. That's the best ATS mark of any quarterback with at least three seasons under his belt.
The underdog Dallas Cowboys' convincing 38-17 win over the New Orleans Saints capped another winning Sunday for the books. The game going over the total of 53.5, however, cut into the books' profit. William Hill's sportsbook said it was holding 10 times more bets on the over than the under in the Saints-Cowboys game.
A day earlier, college football's unspectacular Saturday slate produced a ho-hum result for the books. Several shops reported lackluster handle with few big decisions.
"We were just giving money from one player to another," said David Pemberton, director of specialty games at Caesars Entertainment.
Ed Salmons, head football oddsmaker at the Westgate SuperBook, added, "It seems like we've had 12 weeks of Michigan State-Wyoming games. It was just a nondescript Saturday, with no big decisions. I think people are a little tired of it. Next week, thankfully, should be fantastic, though."
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The Wolverines opened at 125-to-1 to win the national title in January at the MGM sportsbook and were bet down to 22-to-1 before the season. But three straight ugly losses to Notre Dame, Utah and Minnesota have sent Michigan's odds plummeting, along with coach Brady Hoke's job security.
[h=4]Risers[/h]
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[h=4]Fallers[/h]
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On Sunday, Texas A&M opened as a 1.5-point favorite against Mississippi State at the Wynn. By Monday morning, the Bulldogs were 1-point favorites.
Undefeated Notre Dame opened as a 1-point favorite in its showdown with Stanford, but early action made the Cardinal a 1-point favorite by Monday morning.
[h=4]Week 6 early line moves[/h]The Wynn opened its Week 6 college football lines at 3 p.m. PT Sunday. Here is a look at some notable early line movements.
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• Florida State and Connecticut have failed to cover the spread in five consecutive games, the longest such streaks in the nation. The Seminoles (0-4 ATS) and Huskies (0-5 ATS) are two of seven teams that have yet to cover the spread this season: North Carolina, Utah State, New Mexico, Kent State and SMU are all 0-4 ATS.
• Virginia has covered the spread in seven straight games dating to last season, the longest such streak in the nation. The Cavaliers (5-0 ATS) are among only four teams to have covered the spread in each of their games; East Carolina (4-0 ATS), Georgia Southern (5-0 ATS) and TCU (3-0) are the others.
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</center>[h=3]Baseball wrap[/h]With 15 games left in the 2011 baseball regular season, the MGM had the St. Louis Cardinalslisted at 999-to-1 to win the World Series. The Cardinals trailed the Atlanta Braves by five games in the wild-card race at the time. A bettor took his shot, putting $250 on the Cardinals to rally and win it all. The Braves collapsed and the Cardinals upset the heavily favoredPhiladelphia Phillies in the playoffs en route to winning the World Series. The bettor won $250,000.
There is no such drama this season, and the books head into October in good shape.
"Really no sweat for us this year," Rood said. "Certainly not like it was a few years ago."
If the Washington Nationals win the World Series, it would be the best result for most books, but none of the shops reported any significant worries. However, the SuperBook would prefer that the Cardinals not prevail.
"One of our house players put a decent-sized bet on the Cardinals at 14-to-1," said Salmons, declining to elaborate on how big the wager was.
The books were relieved to see the Seattle Mariners eliminated. "They would have been our only bad one," Simbal said of the Mariners. "We had a lot of people back them at 25- and 30-to-1. There were some $1,000 and $2,000 bets on them."
Seattle was eliminated from playoff contention when the Oakland A's defeated the Texas Rangers on Sunday.
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</center>[h=3]Updated World Series odds[/h](Courtesy of the SuperBook)
Dodgers 9-2
Tigers 9-2
Nationals 9-2
Cardinals 8-1
Angels 5-1
Orioles 7-1
A's 12-1
Giants 14-1
Pirates 14-1
Royals 16-1
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</center>[h=3]Diamond notes[/h]Best bet
The Baltimore Orioles (96-66) were the best bet in baseball during the regular season. If you bet $100 on the Orioles in every game, you won $3,049. The Orioles went 41-32 as underdogs. The Los Angeles Angels were the only other team to finish up more than $1,000 on the money line.
Worst bet
The Colorado Rockies (66-96) were the worst bet of the regular season. If you bet $100 on the Rockies in every game, you lost $2,789. The Rockies went 33-73 as underdogs.The Arizona Diamondbacks (minus-$2,756) and Boston Red Sox (minus-$2,091) were the only other teams to finish down more than $2,000 on the money line.
Best starting pitcher
Baltimore starter Chris Tillman (13-6) was the best starter to back this season. If you bet $100 on the Orioles in each of Tillman's 34 starts, you are up $1,471.
Worst starting pitcher
Oakland midseason acquisition Jeff Samardzija was the worst starting pitcher to back. Samardzija came over from the Chicago Cubs in early July and contributed to the A's late collapse. Samardzija cost a $100 bettor $338 in his starts with the A's and finished the season down $1,421 on the money line overall.
The Diamondbacks' Vidal Nuno (minus-$1,364), the Miami Marlins' Nathan Eovaldi (minus-$1,364) and the Red Sox's Brandon Workman (minus-$1,057) were the only other starters to finish down more than $1,000 on the money line.
Information courtesy of OddsShark.com
By [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]David Purdum[/FONT] | ESPN.com
Approximately $187 million was bet on sports in August at Nevada sportsbooks, an all-time high for the month, according to Nevada Gaming Control. Bettors did not fare well.
The books won $11.37 million in August, including $10.02 million on NFL and college football combined. The month included the four weeks of the NFL preseason and Week 1 of college football.
The books held 17.38 percent of the money bet on football in August. The average annual hold percentage on football is 4-6 percent. But the last three Augusts have been exceptional for the books. They held 20.17 percent on football in 2013 and 26.95 percent in 2012.
[h=4]Nevada Gaming Control Board August Revenue Report[/h]
| Game | Win |
|---|---|
| *Figures in millions. Source: Nevada Gaming Control | |
| Twenty-One | $102.90 |
| Craps | $31.40 |
| Roulette | $31.04 |
| Baccarat | $169.58 |
| Sports | $11.37 |
| Penny slots | $209.05 |
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Nevada Gaming Control senior research analyst Michael Lawton attributes August's higher hold percentage to lighter volume in August compared to the months during the regular season. Or perhaps, as some have suggested, the overall talent level of the bettors is at its squarest to start the football season. Regardless of the reason, August football has been kind to the books.
Bettors fared better in baseball, but not by much. The books won $3.33 million on baseball in August, a 35.9 percent decrease from August 2013. On the season, the books are up $22.13 million on baseball from April through August. Their average annual baseball win over the past five years is $24.56.
Overall, though, business is good at Nevada sportsbooks. From September 2013 through August 2014, sportsbooks won $225.6 million, a 44.49 percent increase from the previous 12-month span.
[h=3]Bucs, Vikings save books[/h]The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings saved Las Vegas sportsbooks on a chalk-heavy Sunday.Favorites covered the spread in six of the seven early games. That's never good for the sportsbooks, which almost always end up being financially invested in the underdogs.
The Buccaneers were the only underdogs to cover in the early games. After being embarrassed by the Atlanta Falcons in the Thursday game Sept. 18, Tampa Bay responded by beating thePittsburgh Steelers 27-24 as 7.5-point underdogs. The Bucs' outright upset eliminated a ton of parlay liability that had built up with the early slew of favorites covering the spread. It was a huge swing game for the books. But there was still plenty to sweat in the afternoon games.
"We could all go away, if we don't get the Vikings," joked Jay Rood, vice president of race and sports for MGM, during the second half of the Atlanta-Minnesota game. "An outright win would be outstanding. A cover keeps us ahead."
The Vikings delivered. In the hours leading to kickoff, the point spread grew from Atlanta minus-3 to minus-6. Minnesota outscored the Falcons 14-0 in the second half to seal a 41-28 victory and help the books rest easier, heading into the night game.
"That really helped us avoid a major fire," Jason Simbal, vice president of race and sports at the CG Technology sportsbook, said of the Vikings' upset.
While the Bucs' and Vikings' upsets produced the biggest wins of the day for the books, the Green Bay Packers' beatdown of the Chicago Bears was responsible for their biggest loss. And, perhaps, we should have seen it coming.
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has the worst record against the spread of any NFL starter who has completed three seasons, at 42-63-2. He's been especially bad against the Packers. The Bears are 2-9 ATS versus the Packers with Cutler starting. Green Bay starter Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, improved to 59-38-3 ATS in the Packers' 38-17 win over Chicago. That's the best ATS mark of any quarterback with at least three seasons under his belt.
The underdog Dallas Cowboys' convincing 38-17 win over the New Orleans Saints capped another winning Sunday for the books. The game going over the total of 53.5, however, cut into the books' profit. William Hill's sportsbook said it was holding 10 times more bets on the over than the under in the Saints-Cowboys game.
A day earlier, college football's unspectacular Saturday slate produced a ho-hum result for the books. Several shops reported lackluster handle with few big decisions.
"We were just giving money from one player to another," said David Pemberton, director of specialty games at Caesars Entertainment.
Ed Salmons, head football oddsmaker at the Westgate SuperBook, added, "It seems like we've had 12 weeks of Michigan State-Wyoming games. It was just a nondescript Saturday, with no big decisions. I think people are a little tired of it. Next week, thankfully, should be fantastic, though."
[h=3]Michigan's woes[/h]Michigan's odds tell the story in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines are now 9,999-to-1 to win the national championship at the Westgate SuperBook. Their odds would be higher, but ...<iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" title="Embedded Tweet" height="259" style="margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238) rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(187, 187, 187); outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 16.6200008392334px; display: block; max-width: 99%; min-width: 220px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.14902) 0px 1px 3px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 500px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"></iframe>
The Wolverines opened at 125-to-1 to win the national title in January at the MGM sportsbook and were bet down to 22-to-1 before the season. But three straight ugly losses to Notre Dame, Utah and Minnesota have sent Michigan's odds plummeting, along with coach Brady Hoke's job security.
[h=3]Updated college football national championship odds[/h]Alabama enjoyed a bye and remained the favorite to win the national championship at the SuperBook. The Crimson Tide, at 5-1, are followed by Florida State and Oklahoma at 6-1 and Auburn at 7-1. Baylor and UCLA are at 10-1.[h=4]Risers[/h]
| Team | Last Week | Sept. 27 |
|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 12-1 | 6-1 |
| Michigan State | 20-1 | 15-1 |
| Baylor | 12-1 | 10-1 |
| Ole Miss | 30-1 | 25-1 |
| Georgia | 18-1 | 10-1 |
| Oklahoma State | 200-1 | 100-1 |
| TCU | 75-1 | 50-1 |
| Missouri | 300-1 | 100-1 |
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[h=4]Fallers[/h]
| Team | Last Week | Sept. 27 |
|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | 40-1 | 1000-1 |
| Texas A&M | 12-1 | 20-1 |
| Arizona | 100-1 | 200-1 |
| Boise State | 5000-1 | 9999-1 |
| Tennessee | 500-1 | 1000-1 |
| North Carolina | 500-1 | 9999-1 |
| Michigan | 5000-1 | 9999-1 |
| Pittsburgh | 1000-1 | 9999-1 |
| Utah | 200-1 | 1000-1 |
| Duke | 300-1 | 1000-1 |
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[h=3]Week 6 early college football action[/h]Two favorites quickly became underdogs in two showcase games on an intriguing Saturday slate.On Sunday, Texas A&M opened as a 1.5-point favorite against Mississippi State at the Wynn. By Monday morning, the Bulldogs were 1-point favorites.
Undefeated Notre Dame opened as a 1-point favorite in its showdown with Stanford, but early action made the Cardinal a 1-point favorite by Monday morning.
[h=4]Week 6 early line moves[/h]The Wynn opened its Week 6 college football lines at 3 p.m. PT Sunday. Here is a look at some notable early line movements.
| Matchup | Opening | Monday |
|---|---|---|
| Louisville at Syracuse (Friday) | Louisville -6.5 | Louisville -4 |
| Utah State at BYU (Friday) | BYU -14.5 | BYU -17.5 |
| Miami-Florida at Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech -3 | Georgia Tech PK |
| Ohio State at Maryland | Ohio State -10 | Ohio State -7.5 |
| Kansas at West Virginia | West Virginia -20 | West Virginia -24 |
| Toledo at Western Michigan | Toledo -12.5 | Toledo -9.5 |
| Virginia Tech at North Carolina | Virginia Tech -3 | Virginia Tech PK |
| South Carolina at Kentucky | South Carolina -10 | South Carolina -7.5 |
| Ball State at Army | Ball State -1.5 | Army -3 |
| Arizona State at Southern Cal | Southern Cal -7.5 | Southern Cal -10 |
| Texas A&M at Mississippi State | A&M -1.5 | Mississippi State -1 |
| UTEP at Louisiana Tech | Louisiana Tech -9 | Louisiana Tech -13 |
| Michigan at Rutgers | Michigan -1.5 | Rutgers -3 |
| Ga. Southern at N. Mexico State | Ga. Southern -14.5 | Ga. Southern -17 |
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[h=3]College football odds and ends[/h]• Charlie Weis went 10-18 ATS in 2½ seasons at Kansas (he was fired on Sunday). Weis is 37-52 ATS in his head coaching career. • Florida State and Connecticut have failed to cover the spread in five consecutive games, the longest such streaks in the nation. The Seminoles (0-4 ATS) and Huskies (0-5 ATS) are two of seven teams that have yet to cover the spread this season: North Carolina, Utah State, New Mexico, Kent State and SMU are all 0-4 ATS.
• Virginia has covered the spread in seven straight games dating to last season, the longest such streak in the nation. The Cavaliers (5-0 ATS) are among only four teams to have covered the spread in each of their games; East Carolina (4-0 ATS), Georgia Southern (5-0 ATS) and TCU (3-0) are the others.
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</center>[h=3]Baseball wrap[/h]With 15 games left in the 2011 baseball regular season, the MGM had the St. Louis Cardinalslisted at 999-to-1 to win the World Series. The Cardinals trailed the Atlanta Braves by five games in the wild-card race at the time. A bettor took his shot, putting $250 on the Cardinals to rally and win it all. The Braves collapsed and the Cardinals upset the heavily favoredPhiladelphia Phillies in the playoffs en route to winning the World Series. The bettor won $250,000.
There is no such drama this season, and the books head into October in good shape.
"Really no sweat for us this year," Rood said. "Certainly not like it was a few years ago."
If the Washington Nationals win the World Series, it would be the best result for most books, but none of the shops reported any significant worries. However, the SuperBook would prefer that the Cardinals not prevail.
"One of our house players put a decent-sized bet on the Cardinals at 14-to-1," said Salmons, declining to elaborate on how big the wager was.
The books were relieved to see the Seattle Mariners eliminated. "They would have been our only bad one," Simbal said of the Mariners. "We had a lot of people back them at 25- and 30-to-1. There were some $1,000 and $2,000 bets on them."
Seattle was eliminated from playoff contention when the Oakland A's defeated the Texas Rangers on Sunday.
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</center>[h=3]Updated World Series odds[/h](Courtesy of the SuperBook)
Dodgers 9-2
Tigers 9-2
Nationals 9-2
Cardinals 8-1
Angels 5-1
Orioles 7-1
A's 12-1
Giants 14-1
Pirates 14-1
Royals 16-1
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</center>[h=3]Diamond notes[/h]Best bet
The Baltimore Orioles (96-66) were the best bet in baseball during the regular season. If you bet $100 on the Orioles in every game, you won $3,049. The Orioles went 41-32 as underdogs. The Los Angeles Angels were the only other team to finish up more than $1,000 on the money line.
Worst bet
The Colorado Rockies (66-96) were the worst bet of the regular season. If you bet $100 on the Rockies in every game, you lost $2,789. The Rockies went 33-73 as underdogs.The Arizona Diamondbacks (minus-$2,756) and Boston Red Sox (minus-$2,091) were the only other teams to finish down more than $2,000 on the money line.
Best starting pitcher
Baltimore starter Chris Tillman (13-6) was the best starter to back this season. If you bet $100 on the Orioles in each of Tillman's 34 starts, you are up $1,471.
Worst starting pitcher
Oakland midseason acquisition Jeff Samardzija was the worst starting pitcher to back. Samardzija came over from the Chicago Cubs in early July and contributed to the A's late collapse. Samardzija cost a $100 bettor $338 in his starts with the A's and finished the season down $1,421 on the money line overall.
The Diamondbacks' Vidal Nuno (minus-$1,364), the Miami Marlins' Nathan Eovaldi (minus-$1,364) and the Red Sox's Brandon Workman (minus-$1,057) were the only other starters to finish down more than $1,000 on the money line.
Information courtesy of OddsShark.com
