How are the Vegas Golden Knights Doing in the Sports Books?

I see the Vegas Golden Knights hockey team is doing much better than expected for its first year in the NHL. But how are bets for or against the team faring in the sports books?

According to a recent story in the Las Vegas Sun, if the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup, the Nevada books could sustain huge losses; at some, the losses could be the largest ever for National Hockey League wagering. Some futures lines opened at 100-1 and rose all the way to 500-1 before the opening of the GVK’s inaugural season. However, due to the team’s amazing run, the odds on Vegas have dropped down to 8-1; only the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators are lower.

The books are seeing major action on VGK games, upwards of six times the handle of any other NHL game, on a par with some NFL games. In addition, the VGK have been the underdogs in 20 of the 34 games they’ve played so far this season. Bettors have won on the Golden Knights in 15 of their 18 home games, and they’re 5-0 as the dogs at T-Mobile. “Over” bettors have done especially well on totals, with 20 of the 34 games going over the number, second highest percentage in the NHL.

The books have responded, of course, and recently the VGK were favored against the back-to-back Stanley Cup champ Pittsburgh Penguins and the President Trophy-holding Washington Capitals (the President Trophy is awarded the team with the most points).

According to book managers, some of the bigger players are starting to bet on the tide turning, but it hasn’t so far: After Sunday night's crushing of the Toronto Maple Leafs (6-3, with the VGK's first-ever hat trick), the team leads the entire Western Conference with a record of 26-9-2 and they’re 11-0-1 in their last 12 games.

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Ray Jan-02-2018

Playoffs?

The original question (at least in the e-mail I got) asked about making the playoffs. Unless they really tank, they'll make it easily. But will they win? That's a whole lot tougher a guess. It IS interesting to see how the bookies have done and how it continues, and I'm guessing that they will take note of these home team betting patterns when the Raiders actually move there.

Question of the Day - 02 January 2018

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