Tiger Woods puts himself in the forefront for this week’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill in Rochester, N.Y., after winning last week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.
Woods, already one of the more popular plays by Las Vegas bettors, had his odds dropped at the LVH from 4/1, down to 7/2 after the win. However, LVH assistant manager Jeff Sherman said on Sunday, it’s not Woods with the most action.
“It’s Hunter Mahan (30/1), Phil Mickelson (12/1) and then Tiger,” Sherman stated.
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The biggest risks so far to win the tournament for the LVH are Luke Donald (30/1), Dustin Johnson (30/1), Steve Stricker (50/1) and Keegan Bradley (30/1). For those who wish to wager against Woods, you can bet he won’t win at the LVH and lay -420.
As always with the majors, the LVH does a terrific job in offering dozens of player props and matchups. They also do individual round matchups, which are posted immediately after each day of play, along with updated odds. If the final round is close, Sherman has been known to offer in-progress wagering where the contender’s odds rapidly change with each shot.
More Johnny Football troubles? Johnny Manziel is once again in the news for something other than football. While his drinking binges and dealing with his celebrity status are an internal thing Texas A&M has to deal with, his latest issue may not be so easily swept under the rug.
Most of all, for us in Las Vegas, the Aggies odds could be dramatically affected. The NCAA is investigating whether Manziel was paid for signing hundreds of photos and memorabilia during his January trip to the BCS National Championship game in Miami.
Just on the chance Johnny Football could get suspended, several Las Vegas sports books took down any type of odds on games associated with Texas A&M as well their regular season win total, which was posted at 9.5.
The Wynn’s John Avello and LVH Super Book’s Ed Salmons both told “The Linemakers” on Sporting News Sunday that Manziel is worth about a touchdown to every Texas A&M game.
Last season, Manziel led the Aggies to an 11-2 record and threw for 47 TDs, making him the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. Texas A&M is ranked No. 6 in the coaches’ pre-season poll and is 15-1 at LVH to win the BCS Championship game.
Preseason football: The sports books did well with the Hall of Fame game Sunday won by the Cowboys over the Dolphins, 24-20. The Dolphins had been bumped up from a 1-point dog to 3-point favorite by kickoff with the game going OVER the total. It was the perfect recipe for a winning day by the books to kick off football.
Reports had action being very good for a preseason game despite the low limits. People love that football is back and they’ll get to see every team in action this week with six games Thursday, eight Friday and one each Saturday and Sunday.
The most interesting game on the board stands out just because of the high total among all the others posted around 35. The Patriots/Eagles (-4) game on Friday has a total posted at 40 as we all get our first look at Chip Kelly’s fast-paced offense.
Red hot Braves: When Tim Hudson went down with an ankle injury on July 24, some people thought the depletion of their starting rotation might be just what NL East teams like the Phillies or Nationals needed to get back into the race. The Braves lost, 7-4, the very next day to the Mets, but starting the week, haven’t been defeated since.
That’s a stretch of 10 straight games that includes home sweeps against the Cardinals, Rockies and Phillies. It’s still early to be calling the Braves playoff bound, especially after watching their 2011 collapse, but they can start penciling in their name for October reservations by extending their 12.5-game division lead over the Nationals in a three-game series that began Monday in Washington.
The Braves are currently 8/1 to win the World Series, the second lowest odds among NL teams behind the Dodgers (5/1), who are now the favorites to win the World Series. If thinking the Nationals can make some kind of big comeback in the final months, they are currently 50/1 at the LVH to win it all.
Micah Roberts is a former Las Vegas race and sports book director, and longtime motorsports columnist and sports analyst at GamingToday. Follow Micah on Twitter @MicahRoberts7 Contact Micah at [email protected].