If a bettor had placed a $100 money line wager on Oregon State and kept rolling it over during its six-game winning streak, the bankroll would be a little more than $250,000.
Basketball
Houston furniture store owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale made a $1 million wager to win $9 million on the Houston Cougars to win the NCAA title.
Bettors bank on Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim to help No. 11 Orange cover as 6½-point underdogs to No. 2 Houston at Hinkle Fieldhouse, site of the movie “Hoosiers.”
Paul Stone leads the contest after going 8-4 ATS in the first round and hitting his best bet. Doug Fitz is in second place and Kelly Stewart third.
The Bulldogs are the BetMGM’s biggest liability after a bettor placed a $100,000 wager to win $150,000 on Gonzaga to win the championship Tuesday at Bellagio.
The NCAA Tournament games couldn’t have gone much better for Las Vegas sportsbooks, as underdogs went 24-15 ATS with 16 outright upsets Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Favorites won 10 of 15 games Saturday but finished only 4-11 against the spread as Las Vegas sportsbooks enjoyed their second straight winning day of the NCAA Tournament.
Las Vegas sportsbooks welcomed back the NCAA Tournament on Friday after a one-year hiatus, and the biggest betting event of the year did not disappoint.
The roars weren’t as loud as in years past, but even a half-capacity crowd at the Westgate sportsbook created a lively atmosphere on the first day of the NCAA Tournament.
Sharp bettors and the betting public are banking on Ohio to cover the spread against Virginia, which opened as a 10½-point favorite but is down to -7.
VSiN host Mitch Moss and handicappers Kelly Stewart, Paul Stone, Bruce Marshall and Doug Fitz compete in a contest covering NCAA Tournament games Friday and Saturday.
A No. 12 seed has won at least one first-round game in 30 of the last 35 NCAA Tournaments. Will a 12 seed win a game Friday or Saturday? Yes is -280 at William Hill, and No is +240.
To commemorate owner Derek Stevens’ betting tradition, Circa sportsbook took $10,000 limit bets on its mobile app Sunday on the opening lines of the NCAA Tournament.
Las Vegas bookmakers have been at odds for years with the NCAA selection committee, but there was only one instance Sunday in which a higher seed was favored over a lower seed.
Since 2002, when Ken Pomeroy started KenPom.com, 17 of the 18 NCAA champions have ranked in the top 20 in his offensive and defensive efficiency ratings.
