Las Vegas sportsbooks rooting hard against Raiders at Jets

The betting public lost big on the Raiders in Sunday’s 43-6 loss at Atlanta. But that hasn’t stopped the masses from loading up on them again in Sunday’s game at the New York Jets.

The Raiders (6-5), in dire need of a win to stay in the playoff hunt after two straight losses, are consensus 8½-point favorites over the Jets (0-11). The total is 47.

“We already have a ton of money-line parlays and teasers on the Raiders. That’ll be a big, big game,” William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich said. “Bettors are saying the Raiders can’t lose three in a row and they’re going against the winless and hapless Jets.”

No sharp action has been reported on the game. But the South Point, Station Casinos, William Hill and the Westgate have been inundated with public action on Las Vegas.

“We’re going to be huge Jets fans,” Sunset Station sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said.

With the Raiders one of seven teams favored by seven points or more this week, bettors are mostly banking on Las Vegas on the money line (-380) and teasers.

The money line is a simple bet on which team will win the game, with no point spread involved. A teaser is a multiteam wager that lets bettors add or subtract six to seven points on a line or total.

For example, a 6-point, two-team teaser on the Raiders and Packers would let a bettor lower each spread from -8½ to -2½ and both teams would have to win by three points or more to cash the ticket.

“That’s your perfect modern-day NFL game. Every time I look up, there’s some kind of teaser with the Raiders to the Vikings or to Seattle or to Green Bay or to Kansas City and the Raiders on the money line to anyone,” Westgate sportsbook vice president of risk Ed Salmons said. “That game’s viewed as the Jets don’t even want to win and the Raiders have to win.

“If we can get an underdog to win outright, that would be the game we’d pick.”

New York, last in the league in scoring at 13.8 points per game, is +125 on a prop at William Hill to go 0-16. However, it’s covered three of its last five games.

“Every time I try to watch the Jets, I can’t. It almost looks like they’re trying not to score,” Salmons said. “The only person in the world that will bet the Jets is the so-called wiseguys. No one else will bet the Jets.

“I could never bet the Jets but they’ll probably cover somehow. That’s usually how the NFL works.”

Professional sports bettor Jeff Whitelaw didn’t bet on New York but said he’d lean to the Jets if he did. That’s mostly because the Raiders will be missing several key injured players, including running back Josh Jacobs and safety Jonathan Abrams.

“They’re definitely going to be challenged this week. I would certainly favor the Jets with all the key injuries,” he said. “For the Raiders to cover more than a touchdown, it may be difficult.”

The total has dropped from 48 in a matchup of two of the NFL’s five worst scoring defenses. Las Vegas allows 29.0 ppg and New York gives up 29.3 ppg.

The Raiders lost 34-3 at New York last season in late November en route to a 1-5 finish.

“I don’t expect a repeat of last year’s performance. But we’ll be Jets fans and hoping this game is close,” Esposito said. “I think the Raiders will bounce back strong in this game. They can’t afford a road bump here.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.