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Bettors make gains in Week 3
September 23, 2014
After two winning weeks for Las Vegas sportsbooks to kick off the 2014 NFL season, football bettors were due to bounce back and beat them, which is exactly what happened in Week 3. However, things definitely could have been worse for the books, as a few key games kept it from being a brutal week.
Ironically, a division that struggled in the first two weeks bounced back in a big way, with the NFC East doing the most damage. The Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and New York Giants all covered the spread in games with line moves in their favor. The Giants made bettors the most money following a four-point line swing and 30-17 win over the Houston Texans, opening as 2.5-point home underdogs at The Wynn sportsbook in Vegas and closing as 1.5-point favorites.
In addition, the Cowboys opened as 1-point road favorites against the St. Louis Rams and rallied back for a 34-31 victory after closing -2.5. And the Redskins stayed right with the Philadelphia Eagles until the very end, opening as 6.5-point road underdogs before closing +4 in a 37-34 loss to their division rivals.
“They haven’t been playing well except for the Eagles, so I guess everybody had to come around at some point, Johnny Avello, The Wynn's Executive Director of Race & Sports Operations, said about the NFC East. “For NFL or college football, it’s hard to even talk about it on a week-to-week basis because it’s from beginning to end, and you’re going to get this ebb and flow every week.
“We’re going to have some weeks that are going to be good, and we’re going to have some weeks that are going to be awful. But you have to look at it just over time.”
Avello described Sunday’s results as “below average” rather than “awful” thanks to the later games on the schedule that allowed his book to take some back from the earlier losses. One of those games was the Super Bowl XLVIII rematch between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, which was the most heavily bet game in Week 3, according to Avello. The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks opened as 5-point home favorites against the Broncos and closed at -4 with most bettors backing Denver.
“Actually, I needed (the Seahawks) to score (a touchdown) in that game,” Avello said of the 26-20 Seattle victory. “So that game worked out. It wasn’t a big decision, but I needed them to cover the 4 in overtime.
“That’s a funny game because any team that’s down eight points in Seattle with 50 seconds to go and no timeouts is just not going to get down the field. It’s just not going to happen 99 out of 100 (times). There’s three guys, maybe four in football that can get it done possibly. Peyton Manning being one, (Tom) Brady being two, possibly a (Drew) Brees or Aaron Rodgers. I guess if I needed one guy to get it done, the guy that did it was the guy I’d pick to do it.”
The two prime time games that ended Week 3 also helped books overcome the big loss they took on the first one when the Atlanta Falcons hammered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 56-14 on Thursday Night Football as 6.5-point home favorites after opening at -5.5. The Carolina Panthers lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 37-19 as 3.5-point home favorites on Sunday Night Football after opening at -3 (-120).
The New York Jets helped The Wynn post one last victory when they lost to the Chicago Bears 27-19 on Monday Night Football. The Jets opened as 1-point home favorites and closed at -2 there compared to -1.5 at other books around town.
“A lot of late money came in on the Panthers,” Avello said before the Monday Night Football game. “I guess I could use the Bears a little bit, but the Bears are getting played too. There’s been times when I thought we were going to need a team for a bunch, and by the time the game goes off, I’ve needed the other side for a bunch.”
September 23, 2014
After two winning weeks for Las Vegas sportsbooks to kick off the 2014 NFL season, football bettors were due to bounce back and beat them, which is exactly what happened in Week 3. However, things definitely could have been worse for the books, as a few key games kept it from being a brutal week.
Ironically, a division that struggled in the first two weeks bounced back in a big way, with the NFC East doing the most damage. The Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and New York Giants all covered the spread in games with line moves in their favor. The Giants made bettors the most money following a four-point line swing and 30-17 win over the Houston Texans, opening as 2.5-point home underdogs at The Wynn sportsbook in Vegas and closing as 1.5-point favorites.
In addition, the Cowboys opened as 1-point road favorites against the St. Louis Rams and rallied back for a 34-31 victory after closing -2.5. And the Redskins stayed right with the Philadelphia Eagles until the very end, opening as 6.5-point road underdogs before closing +4 in a 37-34 loss to their division rivals.
“They haven’t been playing well except for the Eagles, so I guess everybody had to come around at some point, Johnny Avello, The Wynn's Executive Director of Race & Sports Operations, said about the NFC East. “For NFL or college football, it’s hard to even talk about it on a week-to-week basis because it’s from beginning to end, and you’re going to get this ebb and flow every week.
“We’re going to have some weeks that are going to be good, and we’re going to have some weeks that are going to be awful. But you have to look at it just over time.”
Avello described Sunday’s results as “below average” rather than “awful” thanks to the later games on the schedule that allowed his book to take some back from the earlier losses. One of those games was the Super Bowl XLVIII rematch between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, which was the most heavily bet game in Week 3, according to Avello. The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks opened as 5-point home favorites against the Broncos and closed at -4 with most bettors backing Denver.
“Actually, I needed (the Seahawks) to score (a touchdown) in that game,” Avello said of the 26-20 Seattle victory. “So that game worked out. It wasn’t a big decision, but I needed them to cover the 4 in overtime.
“That’s a funny game because any team that’s down eight points in Seattle with 50 seconds to go and no timeouts is just not going to get down the field. It’s just not going to happen 99 out of 100 (times). There’s three guys, maybe four in football that can get it done possibly. Peyton Manning being one, (Tom) Brady being two, possibly a (Drew) Brees or Aaron Rodgers. I guess if I needed one guy to get it done, the guy that did it was the guy I’d pick to do it.”
The two prime time games that ended Week 3 also helped books overcome the big loss they took on the first one when the Atlanta Falcons hammered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 56-14 on Thursday Night Football as 6.5-point home favorites after opening at -5.5. The Carolina Panthers lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 37-19 as 3.5-point home favorites on Sunday Night Football after opening at -3 (-120).
The New York Jets helped The Wynn post one last victory when they lost to the Chicago Bears 27-19 on Monday Night Football. The Jets opened as 1-point home favorites and closed at -2 there compared to -1.5 at other books around town.
“A lot of late money came in on the Panthers,” Avello said before the Monday Night Football game. “I guess I could use the Bears a little bit, but the Bears are getting played too. There’s been times when I thought we were going to need a team for a bunch, and by the time the game goes off, I’ve needed the other side for a bunch.”
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