Twice weekly, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here.
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New Jersey Representative Frank Pallone is reaching out to the Trump administration to ask for their support in his sports betting appeal.
Pallone (D-6th Dist.) is asking Acting Solicitor General Jeff Wall in a letter to be sent Tuesday to request that the U.S. Supreme Court to hear New Jersey’s appeal of the latest rejection of efforts to allow sports betting in the state.
The high court in January delayed its decision on whether to hear the appeal from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, instead inviting the solicitor general to file a brief on behalf of the federal government.
“New Jersey should have the same opportunity to proceed with sports betting that has been allowed in other states,” Pallone wrote. “The Third Circuit’s decisions have usurped the power of New Jerseyans and the state of New Jersey to share in the considerable profits from sports betting.”
Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming is currently an odds on favorite to win the Preakness Stakes.
The 2017 Preakness Stakes will take place Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the second of the Triple Crown’s three legs.
Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming is the favorite, as expected, following Wednesday’s draw.
The Chicago Cubs have dropped to third best odds to win the World Series after opening the season as favorites.
“Everything broke right for them last year. Their starting pitching from Game 1 to 162 last year was just awesome,” William Hill sports book director Nick Bogdanovich said. “Right now, their pitching isn’t dominant, and their offense isn’t going great, either. But usually in baseball, the cream rises after 162 games. I fully expect them to win their division.
“If I was a Cubs fan, I wouldn’t panic in the streets.”
The Cubs’ odds to win the World Series have moved to 6-1 — behind the Nationals (9-2) and Astros (9-2) — after they opened as the 7-2 favorite. Chicago also is now the third choice to win the National League pennant, at plus-275, behind the Nationals and Dodgers, who are both at plus-250. The Cubs are still minus-450 favorites to win the NL Central over the Cardinals, the plus-300 second choice.
The Cleveland Cavaliers opened as heavy favorites in their Eastern Conference finals matchup against the Boston Celtics. They are 1-0 in the series after winning 117-104 on Wednesday.
The Celtics opened up as +425 underdogs to win the series at Westgate, with the Cavaliers as -550 favorites.
By Tuesday morning, Cleveland had been bet up to a -700 favorite, and Boston was +500. A $100 bet on the Cavaliers to win the series would now win $14.29. That same $100 bet on the Celtics would win $500.
Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook manager Jeff Sherman told ESPN that the book took a “five-figure bet” on Tuesday morning, which pushed the odds to Cavaliers -900, Celtics +600.