Stringing together nine straight winning weeks, Robert Kowalski from Baldini’s Casino in Sparks, Nevada, has opened up a three-game lead in Bookies Battle 2022 with one week to go in the regular season. Robert has 141 correct calls on the season, tallying winners at a 58% clip.
Craig Steppach (Gold Strike Casino) is in second place with 138 winners, and there’s a two-way tie for third between Casey Degnon (Westgate SuperBook) and Kyle Wainscott (Rivers Casino, Des Plaines), winners of the first- and second-quarter mini-contests, respectively, each with 137 in the ‘W’ column.
The fourth-quarter mini-contest sees a three-way tie for first between Kenny Martin (Caesars Sportsbook – Horseshoe Tunica), Rex Beyers (PlayUp USA), and Brad Carpenter (DraftKings at Scarlet Pearl Casino), with 35 winners apiece. Kowalski is a game behind for the $500 quarterly prize.
Beyond the $3,000 prize for best regular-season record, the $1,000 for second place, and the fourth-quarter contest, plenty more remains at stake in Week 18. The top-10 finishers in the regular season, plus the four mini-contest winners, earn berths in the playoff portion of the contest, where there’s another $2,000 to be won.
Bookies Battle is an NFL picks contest among bookmakers throughout the legal sports betting business. Check the standings and follow along right here.
Consensus Picks Stay Steady
Bookies Battle consensus picks went 9-6 in Week 17 and are a marginally profitable 131-114-10 (53.47%) for the year.
A $100 bettor would be up $560 by following these picks (at the right lines, of course) this season.
NFL Week 18 Contest Lines
The final week of the NFL season is always a tricky one to handicap. While most of these games have playoff implications, a handful are meaningless – either because the teams have been eliminated from postseason contention and/or their playoff seed is solidified. Also, there’s the possibility for some of these games that playoff scenarios will have changed by kickoff.
Here are the lines for Week 18 of Bookies Battle 2022, beginning with a pair of Saturday contests: Chiefs at Raiders and Titans at Jaguars
| NFL Week 18 Contest Lines, Bookies Battle 2022 |
|---|
| KC Chiefs (-9) @ LV Raiders |
| TEN Titans @ JAX Jaguars (-6.5) |
| TB Buccaneers @ ATL Falcons (-3) |
| BAL Ravens @ CIN Bengals (-7) |
| NE Patriots @ BUF Bills (-7.5) |
| CAR Panthers @ NO Saints (-3.5) |
| MIN Vikings (-4) @ CHI Bears |
| CLE Browns @ PIT Steelers (-3) |
| HOU Texans @ IND Colts (-3) |
| NY Jets @ MIA Dolphins (-1) |
| ARI Cardinals @ SF 49ers (-14) |
| DAL Cowboys (-3.5) @ WAS Commanders |
| LA Chargers (-3.5) @ DEN Broncos |
| LA Rams @ SEA Seahawks (-6.5) |
| NY Giants @ PHI Eagles (-14) |
| DET Lions @ GB Packers (-4.5) |
In the Bookmaker Spotlight
Gaming Today’s Travis Pulver caught up recently with Socrates Cherry III, who won the third-quarter mini-contest for $500 and a spot in the playoff portion of our contest.
Socrates, manager of race and sports at Aliante Casino, discusses how he got started in this business, why booking football has gotten more difficult, and the $700,000 bet he once wrote.
More Bookmaker Spotlight Q&As: Circa’s Jeff Benson | Westgate’s Jeff Sherman | South Point’s Chris Andrews | BetMGM’s Jason Scott | Bally Bet’s Jay Rood | Station’s Jason McCormick | Golden Nugget’s Tony Miller | Baldini’s Robert Kowalski | Westgate’s Casey Degnon | Rivers’ Kyle Wainscott
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