Tag: Betting
View All TagsFight Night / Dining / Drinking / Betting / Sportsbooks / Survival Strategies / Tips / → All Tags
A Guy's Guide To Fight Night In Vegas
The city of indulgence and home of the 24-hour assault on the senses receives a Pulp Fiction-style adrenaline shot to the heart this Saturday night as pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, Jr. takes on Robert Guerrero at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a 12-round tilt for Mayweather's WBC welterweight title.
When Mayweather fights in Las Vegas, the world takes notice. This is so much more than 36 minutes of stepping and counterpunching. It's a spectacle that draws people from across the globe to the entertainment capital of the world for a weekend that rivals any 48-hour stretch Sin City has to offer.
Betting / Palace Station / Sam's Town / South Point / Sunset Station / Kentucky Derby / → All Tags
It's Derby Week: How Do You Pick Your Ponies?
It's Derby Week! One of the sneaky great sports weekends of the year in Vegas. Not only is the Kentucky Derby the biggest horse race of the year, but it's also an excuse to drink Mint Juleps. Mint Juleps are the Derby drink and any bar or restaurant will probably have them as part of their specials. We've already looked at how to bet on the Kentucky Derby (or any horse race for that matter) so today we focus on how to make your picks.
While it's important to know how to bet, we don't all make our bets by the book. Many of us are novice horse bettors so actual research may be out of the question. While some people do research, others make their bets on a horse because of its name, sex, number or long odds. Hey, who doesn't like picking the long shot winner for big bucks and bragging rights?
Sportsbooks / Betting / Vegas News / Elections / → All Tags
You May Be Able To Bet On The Next President In Vegas Sportsbooks
Sabermetrics first changed how people look at baseball. Now, it's trickled down to just about every professional sports and all pro teams approach how they build their team differently today then they did five years ago. Many sports bettors have begun to act similarly, using sabermetrics when they bet on sports. Nate Silver is a statistician who created a system for forecasting the performance and career development of Major League Baseball players. In recent presidential elections, he brought similar statistical modeling to predicts the next Commander in Chief. His Five Thirty Eight blog has become popular with its incredible accuracy.
International sportsbooks were quick to follow Mr. Silver to the elections and have been offering bets on presidents. That's been off limits to Nevada sportsbooks, but that may be changing soon. Las Vegas Democrat Tick Segerblom has introduced a bill in the Nevada Legislature to legalize betting on federal elections.
Sportsbooks / Vegas Observations / Betting / → All Tags
The Incredible Shrinking Sportsbook
It's not new information that sportsbooks aren't major revenue generators for casinos. Sportsbooks only generate about 1-2% of gaming revenue, but in the past, they had a purpose for gaming business. Sportsbooks have always been seen as an amenity by casinos to keep people on the property with hopes that they'll play more profitable games in the casino. That was a different day.
Today's casinos aren't run by gaming revenue. Nightclub, food and beverage revenue are equal (or greater) generators of revenue for a casino. Casinos aren't mom & pop shops, they're run by major corporations who have to report earnings every three months. They have to explain where every penny of revenue and profit comes from and they have to find more money every quarter. If more money is being made by selling overpriced nachos then a casino will focus their efforts on getting that revenue. Revenue for a hotel and casino are broken down by how much every square foot generates. We shouldn't be surprised to see sportsbooks shrinking when they are only providing 1-2% of revenue of overall gaming.
MLB / Baseball / Betting / Tips / Survival Strategies / → All Tags
Major League Baseball Betting Primer
Baseball fans were teased with full-time professional baseball players playing in the World Baseball Classic earlier this month and, now that it's over, it's time for real baseball. The Major League Baseball season begins on Sunday, but kicks into full gear Monday, April 1.
Betting on all sports will be different this season as sportsbooks continue to release prop bets on individual games, players and various statistics. Baseball is the most statistic-driven sport so expect there to be new prop bets every time you head to the book. You can also expect "alternate run lines" to make betting on baseball seem more similar to other sports, but until now, that's not how baseball is usually bet.
The Mirage / Sportsbooks / Renovations / Betting / → All Tags
Checking Out The Sportsbook Renovations At The Mirage
The Mirage sportsbook was one of the first "mega sportsbooks" in Las Vegas. Over time, it began to show its age. You could see it from the TVs to the worn furniture. That changed this week as The Mirage finished renovations to its sportsbook just in time for March Madness. One thing will stand out to anyone that walks by and that's the giant 85 foot long, $1.5 million digital display.
The impressive display can be chopped up into 12 sections, as needed, allowing a variety of games in different sizes. The display is great and certainly impressive but, for the sake of comparison, the crispness of the picture isn't quite as sharp as the Cantor Gaming sportsbook at Venetian. It's still impressive, though. The theater-style lighting is another difference between the two sportsbooks. Regardless, this is a major step forward for The Mirage.
Openings / Sportsbooks / Plaza / William Hill / Betting / → All Tags
William Hill Opens Biggest, Brightest Sportsbook In Downtown At Plaza
You know something is a big deal when former Mayor Oscar Goodman officiates it and that was the case when William Hill unveiled their new sportsbook at the Plaza. The space itself is huge -- probably the largest downtown -- but it has been neglected and in disrepair for years. Enter William Hill who bought in plenty of blue paint to brighten up the dark space. They also brought plenty of seating and 75 brand new TVs.
The main viewing area has two rows of short cocktail tables and two rows of bistro tables featuring four bar stools a piece. Pop Up Pizza is a 10-second walk from the sportsbook and this would be a great place to bring a pie over any enjoy the games. We were treated with balloon and mini basketballs at the opening. Our basketball wanted to play some video poker, but had problems finding money.
Sportsbooks / Cantor Gaming / William Hill / Betting / → All Tags
More Ways To Bet On Sports, Yay!
If you've visited a sportsbook in Las Vegas in the past six months, you may have noticed that there are more betting options then ever before. Expanded betting options are just beginning.
It all began slowly back in 2009 when Cantor Gaming opened their first sportsbook at M Resort. Cantor was the first sportsbook to offer in-running wagering where you could wager on every play of certain football games. In-running wager has expanded to more games and sports and many casinos are now offering in-game wagering where you can bet on a game while it's in action.
The excitement over additional wagering options has opened up even more ways to bet on the games. Sportsbooks like William Hill now offer a slew of new wagering options that were never available before. Yes, you can wager on a team to win the World Series in baseball, but you also can wager on who will win each league and each division. Going even further into the MLB season, you can wager on who will hit the most home runs for the season and there are almost 30 head-to-head proposition bets between players, like who will have more strikeouts, Clayton Kershaw or Justin Verlander?
Betting / Football / Baseball / Soccer / NBA / NHL / Sportsbooks / March Madness / → All Tags
Football Is Done, Here's What's Next In The Sportsbook
The Super Bowl was the most wagered on sporting event of all time. As usual, the casinos made money which means that most people betting on the game lost. No big deal. We love football and are ready for the next season to begin so we can get back to it. But, that's it for right now. No more football for seven months. So, what now?
Football, pro and college, is the most popular sport to bet on, but that doesn't mean that there aren't other major sports events to bet on in the near future. There is a pretty fun variety of sports to keep us in the sportsbook. The biggest NASCAR race of the year, The Daytona 500, takes place February 24. That will be followed up with NASCAR Weekend which comes to Las Vegas just a few weeks later.
Super Bowl / Big Game / Gambling / Sports Betting / Betting / → All Tags
Super Bowl Prop Bets Are Ready For You
Half of the fun of the Super Bowl is betting on the Big Game. Earlier this week, we let you know that the point spread had the San Francisco 49ers favored by 4 points over the Baltimore Ravens with an over/under total at 48 points. Those numbers are still the same at William Hill. Now, it's time for the fun. The Super Bowl offers more betting opportunities than any other game and that's awesome.
Super Bowl prop (short for proposition) bets have become increasingly popular every year. There are legal proposition bets you can make with sportsbooks in Las Vegas that are based on the action and then there are the fun prop bets available online that are based on whatever the online sportsbooks feel like.
Big Game / Super Bowl / Betting / Sportsbooks / Gambling / → All Tags
The Early Line On The Big Game
The Super Bowl Big Game was set last night when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New England Patriots. The Ravens will take on the San Francisco 49ers who came from behind to defeat the Atlanta Falcons. We now have two weeks to marinate on the final game of the NFL season. That gives us plenty of time to sift through the who, what, where and why's to wager on the game.
To get the ball rolling, the sportsbooks have already released a spread on the game with the 49ers being favored over the Ravens by 4 points. The total for the game has been set at 48 points. Even though some casino sportsbooks are beginning to offer prop bets on a few games a week nothing will match the amount of betting options available on the biggest sporting event of the year. The aforementioned prop bets, which will be released shortly, allow you to wager on everything that happens before, during and after the game ranging from how long it will take Alicia Keys to sing the national anthem to who the Most Valuable Player of the game will be.
Betting / Boston Celtics / Sacramento Kings / NBA / Palms / Gold Coast / Caesars Entertainment / Sportsbooks / → All Tags
Add The Celtics To Teams You Can't Bet At Palms
There have been lots of changes for sports bettors at Palms this year.
Earlier this year, Cantor Gaming took control of the sportsbook at Palms and built a beautiful new one which includes a cute little poker area. (We can't really call it a poker room since it's not enclosed and is open to the casino and sportsbook.) The sportsbook itself is "cozy" with just four rows of red desk seating, in true Cantor Gaming fashion. Also in the tradition of other Cantor Gaming sportsbooks, the TVs are big and beautiful.
