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.
Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email info@bettingtalk.com.
* * *
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval disputed a recent article that said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones lobbied for daily fantasy sports legalization in Nevada.
Sandoval’s office categorically denied that DFS ever came up in conversation with Jones, during the call reported or at any other time. A spokesperson for the governor offered this statement on Friday, going further than the denial in the ESPN piece:
“The Governor and Mr. Jones have never had a conversation about Daily Fantasy Sports and ESPN’s suggested implication to the contrary is patently false.
The Governor believes that fantasy sports constitutes sports betting and thus requires a gaming license in Nevada. The State has not altered its regulatory scheme or proposed any changes to Nevada law to accommodate any specific business.”
The Golden State Warriors entered the NBA playoffs as huge favorites to win it all.
Coming off a record-setting 73-win season, the Golden State Warriors were 2-3 preseason favorites in October to win the 2016-17 NBA title.
After going a league-best 67-15 this regular season, Las Vegas doesn’t think much has changed.
The top seed in the West, the Warriors are the 1-2 favorites to take home another title at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, and no other team is particularly close. The Cleveland Cavaliers, the No. 2 seed in the East, have the second-best odds at 7-2 (+350), followed by the San Antonio Spurs at 9-1 (+900).
ESPN Chalk put together a recap of NBA win totals for the 2016-2017 regular season.
The division winners are easy to recap as favorites won five of six divisions: The Boston Celtics were 10-11 to win the Atlantic; the Cleveland Cavaliers were 1-10 to win the Central; the San Antonio Spurs were 1-8 to win the Southwest; the Utah Jazz were a lukewarm 19-10 to win the Northwest; the Golden State Warriors were 1-50 to win the Pacific. The only upset was the Washington Wizards winning the Southeast as the 9-5 second choice to the Atlanta Hawks at 7-4.
Here’s a team-by-team look at the over/under results.
The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook updated its futures odds for the 2018 college football season with Alabama remaining as the favorite.
The Westgate Superbook in Las Vegas is often seen as the go-to when it comes to sports betting odds, and the book released a new set of potential wagers on Monday. Their board is never published publically, but some in the know tweeted out the odds earlier today.
Four SEC teams made the cut: Alabama is the current leader at 7-2, LSU follows up at 15-1, Auburn is at 20-1, with only Georgia being represented from the East with odds at 30-1.
Michigan State freshman and projected NBA lottery pick Miles Bridges unexpectedly announced he will be returning for his sophomore season which resulted in the Spartans becoming the favorites to win the 2018 NCAA tournament.
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Michigan State is now an 8/1 favorite to win the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky is listed at 11/1 while North Carolina, Duke and Louisville each have 12/1 odds.