Before the ink was dry on a deal for BetMGM to become the official wagering partner of the Tennessee Titans, inescapable Covid-19 rippled through the Titans’ ranks, forcing indefinite postponement of a tilt against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Incidences like this and tonight’s delayed Kansas City Chiefs/New England Patriots face-off are starting to make themselves felt in NFL betting lines. “The first few weeks in the NFL went so well, it would have been easy to forget that a single positive test can send waves through the schedule,” said Brett Collson, lead analyst for TheLines.com. “Oddsmakers are accustomed to factoring in injuries, but both bettors and oddsmakers are dealing with an extremely fluid situation where active rosters and schedules can change in a flash. So far, it appears that hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm for bettors overall.”
That’s good, but you can’t put down a wager on the Week 5 game between the Titans and Buffalo Bills. Too many imponderables. Four other games have only partial odds, pending tonight’s outcome. Also, oddsmakers are getting headaches trying to adjust the odds to account for the positive Covid tests of players like Cam Newton. Meanwhile, to amuse ourselves, we note that the Baltimore Ravens are 13.5-point favorites over the lowly Cincinnati Bengals, the biggest point spread on the board. (We think it should be bigger. The over/under is 52 points.) Other big spreads are fairly predictable, such as +7.5 for the Steelers over the Philadelphia Eagles and identical odds for the San Francisco 49ers against the interception-prone Miami Dolphins. The Las Vegas Raiders are lambs to the slaughter against the Chiefs, -11.5 points. If you like gaudy scoring, TheLines.com favors the Minnesota Vikings/Seattle Seahawks shootout, with its 57.5-point over/under. There’s been some pissing and moaning about how the season would be so much better had exhibition games been played (putting starters at risk) but from what we’ve been watching it’s hella exciting and we are definitely ready for some (more) football.
I used to walk the Las Vegas strip at any time of day or night without any fear of violence or crime, these are unprecedented times. Las Vegas Metro is going to lose its reputation as having mastered its territory. The casino/resorts need to partner with the police and actively discourage gang activities before its too late, a lot of resources need to be brought in, put cops and armed security guards on bicycles, if the criminals feel they can operate with impunity, this will continue and get way worse…
To Mike A: welcome to our world in Atlantic City. Fifteen years ago, we were warned not to walk from a casino to the famous 100+ years old Irish Pub nearby at night, but to drive and park near it or take a cab. A few years ago, when parking near a restaurant on Pacific Ave, we barely made it inside as a group of local youths almost caught up to us. A recent “study” funded by the casino people to build a supermarket (there are none) in Atlantic City requires armed police in the parking lot when it is open, and armed police inside the store 24 hours a day. The estimated profit/loss for this supermarket is “$118,000 Loss”. We both need good luck to even go to some of these casino areas.
That is crazy Mike, if casinos can not insure your safety in their areas they will die out eventually. Its not worth risking your life to gamble. And I could not live in a neighborhood without at least a few supermarkets…