Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...

Baseball betting booms on opening weekend

Written by 
Published in Baseball
Monday, 27 July 2020 11:16

The $100,000 baseball bets, one after another, started coming in over the weekend at the sportsbook at Borgata, the last casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.

As the first weekend of the baseball season wound down, Borgata had taken roughly the equivalent of three weeks of normal MLB betting handle in just three days -- despite the casino being limited to only 25% capacity.

"It's been very impressive," Tom Gable, Borgata director of race and sports, told ESPN on Sunday, the first day the casino was fully open to the general public after an invite-only event the previous days. "Today, we took six different six-figure wagers. Yesterday, we had five six-figure wagers made."

Sportsbooks around the nation felt the pent-up demand of baseball bettors. William Hill U.S. and the SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas each said that Saturday, which featured a 15-game baseball slate and a UFC event, was their largest day in terms of amount wagered since essentially all major sports shut down as the pandemic took hold in mid-March.

"It exceeded expectations," Jeff Sherman, vice president of risk for the SuperBook, said. "We've got lines at the [betting] windows. ... Obviously, they're spaced out, but there's more people coming in to bet."

At DraftKings, more money was wagered on Thursday's season-opener between the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals than had been bet on any baseball game in the sportsbook's two-year history.

Saturday's games between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets and the Yankees and Nationals ranked in the top 10 of DraftKings' most-heavily bet baseball games, according to head of sportsbook Johnny Avello.

"The handle on baseball, I thought it was going to be great, and it is great," Avello said Sunday.

The betting public got off to a hot start on Thursday and Friday, with favorites going a combined 14-2.

"If the early results are any indication, I wish baseball would [have] stayed out," Chris Andrews, a veteran Las Vegas bookmaker of the South Point casino, joked Saturday morning on Twitter.

Underdogs battled back over the weekend to help the bookmakers keep the lights on heading into one of the busiest Augusts the U.S. sports world has ever experienced. In addition to baseball, the NBA and NHL are gearing up for their playoffs in the coming weeks, and golf's first major of the revised season, the PGA Championship, tees off Aug. 6.

"It's going to be probably the biggest August we've ever seen," Sherman said. "That's a good thing. It's great."

Read 251 times

Soccer

Southampton vs Liverpool: Slot hails resilient win

Southampton vs Liverpool: Slot hails resilient win

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsLiverpool boss Arne Slot praised his team for mounting a second-hal...

Vini, Mbappé connect as Madrid ease past Leganés

Vini, Mbappé connect as Madrid ease past Leganés

Kylian Mbappé ended his goal drought with a thunderous strike and midfielder Jude Bellingham scored...

Marta, Orlando Pride win 1st NWSL Championship

Marta, Orlando Pride win 1st NWSL Championship

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsKANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Barbra Banda's goal stood up as the winner to l...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

Sources: Hornets' Williams out for rest of season

Sources: Hornets' Williams out for rest of season

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsCharlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams sustained season-ending te...

'Phenomenal' Pippen Jr. shines in dad's ex-arena

'Phenomenal' Pippen Jr. shines in dad's ex-arena

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsScotty Pippen Jr. already had plenty of fond memories of watching h...

Baseball

Carty, 1970 NL batting champ with Braves, dies

Carty, 1970 NL batting champ with Braves, dies

EmailPrintRico Carty, who won the 1970 National League batting title when he hit a major-league-best...

Hays, Finnegan, Rodgers among new free agents

Hays, Finnegan, Rodgers among new free agents

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- Outfielder Austin Hays and right-hander Kyle Finnegan -...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated