Las Vegas will be getting its first major sports franchise, as the city was awarded a NHL franchise earlier this summer. However, it may be action like what was seen just this past week that has other leagues scared to add their sports to the gambling capital of America.
That’s because it appears there were a number of large bets placed on the Golden State Warriors to win the 2016-17 NBA championship just days before Kevin Durant made his decision to join Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Co.
ESPN.com is reporting that Westgate SuperBook took a $20,000 bet on the Warriors on July 3rd and similar big money bets were also placed at the MGM sports book in the days leading up to Durant’s decision.
In fact, the MGM sports book is reporting at least a half dozen four-figure bets on Golden State in that same time period.
Westgate took the wagers as “educated guess wagers” and hasn’t reported them as suspicious, while MGM also reported that by the time the action was over, almost three more times as much money was placed on the Warriors to win the title than any other team in the league.
“We got popped on the Warriors right before he announced,” MGM assistant manager Jeff Stoneback said. “Most of the bets came Saturday and Sunday, and then we got some more on the Fourth.”
Durant’s decision also had a huge impact on the betting lines for the teams involved in it. The Warriors went from 3-2 odds at Westgate to around 2-3 by the time all the action had settled down. His old team, the Oklahoma City Thunder are now 30-1 at Westgate and 20-1 at the MGM sports books.
Perhaps the most intriguing of the bets on the Warriors at this point is the one on them versus the rest of the NBA. The Warriors are at -150, and one can take the field at +130.
While the sports books don’t seem too concerned over the nature of the betting, the large amounts of big-time money action certainly should get the league’s attention. People being tipped off over a free agency move for betting purposes can’t be good news for the league or for Las Vegas sports books which are trying to maintain a pristine reputation ahead of a potential move for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders to Sin City.
[ESPN]
