The Westgate SuperContest, the world’s most prestigious NFL handicapping contest, drew a record number of entries (3,123) for the eighth consecutive year in 2018.
Todd Dewey
Reporter: Sports betting
Email: tdewey@reviewjournal.com
X: @tdewey33
Todd Dewey covers sports betting for the Review-Journal. Prior to taking over that beat in January 2017, he covered UNLV football, 51s baseball and a wide range of other events that come to Las Vegas. A native of Cambridge, Mass., and a graduate of the University of Central Florida, Dewey joined the Review-Journal in 1999 and was the 2013 Nevada Sportswriter of the Year.
Professional sports bettor Rufus Peabody was leading the DraftKings sports betting national championship before he was prevented from wagering on the final game of the contest between the Saints and Eagles.
Las Vegas oddsmakers expect NFL Championship Sunday to feature a pair of close shootouts. Both games are rematches from the regular season that each produced at least 80 points.
In the divisional round of the 2016 playoffs, 15 of the 16 possible teaser options hit, with three games cashing all-way teasers on each side, over and under.
Using the alias Monsterloc, San Francisco native Rich Velez went 81-36-2 (69.2 percent) against the spread to win the Golden Nugget’s inaugural Ultimate Football Challenge.
An NFL-ready quarterback at age 19, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence is the early favorite to win the 2019 Heisman Trophy, and the Tigers are favored to repeat as national champions.
Bettors won big when, according to the Washington Post Fact Checker, President Donald Trump made six false statements in Tuesday’s speech on border security from the Oval Office.
Two weeks after the Westgate was in position to win $100,000 if Chicago won the Super Bowl, it stood to lose $200,000 on the Bears winning it all, before Cody Parkey missed a 43-yard field goal try that hit the upright and crossbar with 10 seconds left.
A Westgate bettor placed a $110,000 wager on Alabama minus 5 on Sunday and a William Hill bettor placed a $220,000 wager on the Tide.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars in wagers changed hands at Las Vegas sports books when Chicago kicker Cody Parkey’s 43-yard field goal try hit the left upright and then the crossbar with 10 seconds left.
Clemson opened as a 6½-point underdog to Alabama but the line dropped to 4½ at several sports books Friday, when a Westgate bettor placed a $60,000 wager on the Tigers at plus 5.
Sharp bettors are on the Colts over the Texans on Saturday in the opener of the NFL’s wild-card weekend. Houston opened as a 2½-point home favorite, but the line has been bet to 1.
A public memorial service for longtime Las Vegas Review-Journal boxing writer Royce Feour will take place at 2 p.m. Jan. 12 at Palm Eastern Mortuary, 7600 S. Eastern Ave.
California resident Eric Kahane went 5-0 against the spread Sunday to win the $1.4 million first-place prize in the Westgate SuperContest with a 59-25-1 record (70.2 percent).
Following the lead of their namesake, the Vegas Junior Golden Knights have won the West in unprecedented fashion. The Pee-Wee AA 12-and-under hockey team recently claimed the crown of the International Silver Stick Western regional qualifying tournament at the Las Vegas Ice Center.