Although the Men’s NCAA Tournament as a whole proved to be profitable for the Station Casinos Sports Books, the final three games of March Madness did not go the way of the house. Guests were cashing in on more tickets than an Allegiant Stadium scalper.
“The overall tournament was really, really good for us with the amount of underdogs and upsets, but the Final Four and championship games weren’t good for us,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos’ Race and Sports Book Director. Now the Women’s Final Four, on the other hand, saw the Book collecting money like it was an STN Charm.
With all that in mind, let’s quickly look back at the past week in sports and peek at what’s ahead on the STN Sports App and at the Station Casinos Race and Sports Books…
The Book’s Bad Beat
It’s not often that the house experiences a “worst-case scenario,” but that happened Saturday on San Diego State’s game-winning buzzer-beater. As the San Diego State/Florida Atlantic game closed with the Aztecs favored by 2.5, guests bet SDSU on the money line and took FAU with the points. Since San Diego State won by 1, the house got middled and lost both ways. “It was fun to watch and the crowd was into it,” Esposito said. “There were a lot of buzzer-beaters in the tournament that clearly went our way. That one did not.”
The house got whipped around like a car dealership inflatable in Monday’s Vegas Valley wind storm.
Handle That
While UConn is somewhat perceived to be a certified “blue blood” in the college hoops hierarchy, the lack of brand-name schools had a negative effect on the overall handle of the Final Four.
“The handle was still great, the crowds were still great, but it’s hard to compete with last year’s Final Four, which four blue bloods in Duke, North Carolina, Villanova, and Kansas,” Esposito said. “This year the schools were much smaller, so it was quite the contrast.”
Last year’s Final Four got more attention than a 34-count indictment. But, that didn’t mean that big bets didn’t roll in over the weekend. “All the large bets were on UConn,” Esposito said, alluding to several Huskies bets in the $30,000 range. One guest also had a six-figure moneyline bet on UConn against Miami. UConn was an absolute machine all tournament long, as they were making more baskets than the Easter Bunny.
Last Man(s) Standing
In the end, there were four. Coming into the National Championship game, four people were still alive in Station Casinos’ Last Man Standing competition. Like Mojave Max, they all had a chance at March/April immortality. Interestingly, not one of them picked UConn. Yep, all four of the remaining contestants bet the underdog San Diego State Aztecs on Monday. Because there was no singular winner, those four people will split the $51,000 winner-take-all prize. Fair to say that the final four guests haven’t been this disappointed in San Diego since Ron Burgandy was fired from Channel 4.
Women’s Final Four
The Women have entered the chat. Whereas the Men’s Final Four had less betting than in previous years, the Women’s Final Four saw a massively increased handle, largely thanks to the star power in the big dance (looking at you Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, and Aliyah Boston.)
In fact, Station Books put up several prop bets tied to the top female players in the tourney — Clark was even the subject of a cross-sport prop with the NBA. “The Final Four games and the championship game were probably the biggest handle that I’ve ever seen on the Women’s Final Four games,” Esposito said. “As far as the women, we had more prop bets available than we ever had. It really was a win for us having that sport so popular, both in in-play and the number of props on the board.”
Due to the popularity, Station plans to expand its overall wagering menu on the women’s tournament in future years. Oh yeah, the house also cashed big on Iowa’s upset of No. 1 overall seed South Carolina, and it won on LSU’s Championship win against Iowa. The Lady Tigers, a No. 3 seed, defied expectations like a Lake Mead water level. Who Run The World? Girls.
All Hail Augusta
Fresh off two incredible Final Fours, things are getting masterful in sports. Golf’s “Super Bowl” — otherwise known as The Masters — kicks off this week. Not only can guests bet on the overall winner of The Masters, but the Books and STN Sports App are also loaded with prop bets, including exact margin of victory, matchup props and even the Par 3 contest. “Our team has put together more wagering options than we’ve ever had before. There are just so many things you can wager on,” Esposito said.
For those who follow the links, it should come as little surprise that Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm are the favorites, but guests can also bet on player finishes and even if there will be a hole-in-one during play. Having said that, it should come as no surprise as to who carries the most liability for Station Sports Books. “Tiger Woods is 50-to-1 right now and still drawing a lot of interest and has more tickets than anybody else,” Esposito said. Bettors are clearly hoping for roars at the Sports Books and on the course.
MLB Early Action
The baseball season is only a week old, but teams are getting more runs than the Rock ’N Roll Marathon. Whether it’s the pace of play, elimination of the shift, or bigger bases, the overs are hitting at an unprecedented rate. On Monday night alone, the overs went 13-1. “The hitters are ahead of the pitchers right now,” Esposito said. “This is going against what the trend has been. Usually, strikeouts have been up in Major League Baseball and the scoring hadn’t been, the only exception being the long ball. We’ve seen a lot more scoring early on so far.” Considering the All Net Arena is yet again struggling with funding, it seems like its pitches are even worse than those from the mound.
Bets To Know
A tradition unlike any other: betting on golf. We mentioned it earlier: The Masters betting menu will be huge. Bets will be adjusted during the tournament so even if you didn’t get yours in by Thursday morning, check the app daily for opportunities.
Weekly Winners
An impressive baseball 8-teamer got cashed on April 3 from this STN Sports bettor. $100 scored $13,141.54! The legs:
-YANKEES -175
-D’BACKS OV 8.5EV
-ANGELS +129
-ANGELS OV 7 -120
-PHILLIES OV 7.5 -110
-GUARDIANS -152
-GUARDIANS OV 7.5 -120
-PADRES -141