Latest news with #ChristianCipollini
Fox Sports
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Sports betting roundup: Stanley Cup Final and NBA Finals ready to get started
Associated Press The Stanley Cup Final and NBA Finals are ready to get underway, with the Edmonton Oilers favored to win the hockey title and the Oklahoma City Thunder favored to win in basketball. On Wednesday, the Florida Panthers will take on the Oilers in a Stanley Cup rematch from a year ago, which Florida won. On Thursday, the NBA Finals has the Indiana Pacers against the Thunder in Game 1. Indiana has never won an NBA championship. The Thunder have never won a title, either, but did win when they were the Seattle Supersonics in 1979. Trends of the Week The Thunder are massive favorites against the Pacers, listed at -700 to win going into the series. 'The Thunder are big favorites to win the NBA championship and a great result for the sportsbook on the futures market,' BetMGM trading manager Christian Cipollini said. 'We are cheering against the Pacers lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.' Going into the regular season, Oklahoma City was +900, while Indiana was +5000. In the NHL, Edmonton is a slight favorite at -115 to win the series over Florida. 'BetMGM is pulling for the Panthers in a Stanley Cup Finals rematch,' BetMGM senior sports trader Matthew Rasp said. 'The Oilers have been a losing result for us all season, and we hope anyone besides Connor McDavid or Sergei Bobrovsky wins the Conn Smythe trophy.' As of Monday morning, Edmonton is taking in 51% of the bets and 72% of the money in series bets. McDavid is currently the favorite to win the Conn Smythe at +100, and has received the most bets and most money of any player in the league throughout the season. Scottie Scheffler won for the third time on the PGA Tour this season, taking the Memorial by four shots. Going into the tournament, he was a massive favorite at +300. In pre-tournament bets, he took in 18.7% of them and 44% of the money. Upset of the Week The New York Yankees were +145 against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday Night Baseball and came away with a 7-3 win. It was just their second win as an underdog this season. Going into the game, they were 1-5. Coming Up After a few months of the MLB season, the Dodgers are still the favorites to win the World Series at +240. The Yankees are next at +550, followed by the Detroit Tigers at +900. No other team has odds shorter than +1000. The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are both +1000. ___ This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook. ___ AP sports: recommended
New York Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
NFL win total bets, odds: Giants, Bears getting early action; Lines moving ahead of schedule release
NFL regular season win totals have been released by sportsbooks earlier and earlier every year, with ESPN BET being the first to do so this time around on March 27. Sportsbook traders have to be ready to adjust win totals at any moment, whether due to a team landing a major acquisition or even from the latest rumor. Advertisement A day that sportsbooks have circled for shaping win totals is the NFL schedule release, which is slated for Wednesday, May 14. Even though each team's opponents are already known, certain scheduling nuances can impact win total odds. 'Significant travel for games and where bye weeks are the types of things that get factored in for win totals,' said Christian Cipollini, trading manager at BetMGM. 'The number could change based on whether a team has a stretch where they play the Bengals, Chiefs and Bills in three straight weeks, compared to if a team has a bye week before playing the Bills. Where those games are in relation to the season is also important, like playing in Buffalo in September or December because of the weather.' The Bills are one of four teams with win totals of 11.5 at BetMGM, along with the Eagles, Ravens and Chiefs. Betting on Buffalo to finish with at least 12 victories, however, has the heaviest price of the four teams, as Bills over 11.5 is listed at -150. 'The Bills aren't that far from their win total being moved to 12.5,' said Johnny Avello, race and sports operations director at DraftKings. 'They won 13 games last season, and they haven't lost anything. So they're as good as they were last year, and probably better. They drafted a couple of defensive guys, which was their weakness, so that pushed their over number up a little bit more. In the early going, bettors clearly like them a lot.' The Bills' over has drawn the second-most money of any win total bet at DraftKings so far, only behind the Raiders' over, which currently sits at 6.5 (over -145, under +120). The Raiders have also attracted the second-most over bets at BetMGM. Along with the Raiders, the Giants (5.5) are another team with a lower win total that has been a popular over play at a couple of sportsbooks. Hard Rock Bet told The Athletic that the Giants have drawn the most win total bets of any team, with 93.5 percent of all wagers coming in on the over. Advertisement After ESPN BET released its NFL win totals, the Giants immediately caught the attention of bettors. After opening with a win total of 3.5, the Giants are currently positioned at 5.5. That makes them the only win total that has moved by multiple wins at ESPN BET. '[A move like that] is not uncommon when you're the first to go live in the market,' said Adrian Horton, Director of North American Sports Trading at ESPN BET. 'We felt good about 3.5 prior to the [Russell] Wilson signing, which came out within a few hours of posting our lines. After the news, it really seemed to pick up on the over as bettors were likely looking into Giants futures, so we adjusted accordingly.' When the Giants' win total was at 3.5, every single bet at ESPN BET was on the over. It was a similar story at 4.5, with 93 percent of the bets at that number also coming in on the over. The Giants are now the fifth-most popular win total wager overall at ESPN BET, with the Steelers leading the way for the sportsbook. The Steelers' win total resides at 8.5 at BetMGM, with the under favored at -120 and the over at +100. The under opened as a bigger favorite at -140, but the Steelers being linked to Aaron Rodgers has drawn over action. According to Pikkit, an app that allows sports bettors to sync their sportsbook accounts, the Steelers have drawn the most over money among all NFL win total bets that they've tracked. But if Rodgers and the Steelers don't come to an agreement, Pittsburgh's win total would be significantly impacted. 'Quarterbacks are very important for the win total,' Cipollini said. 'If the Steelers were to go with Mason Rudolph or Will Howard, that would significantly drop their win total. It would drop to at least 7.5 and possibly even 6.5. With the quarterbacks currently on their roster, they'd be closer to being projected as one of the worst teams in the league. Right now, with Rodgers baked in, their win total is 8.5, which is a bubble playoff team.' There's another team currently positioned at 8.5, which is becoming BetMGM's most popular win total wager: the Chicago Bears. Among all bets on Chicago's win total at BetMGM, 90 percent of the tickets and 69 percent of the bets are on the over. Chicago over 8.5 wins is also the most popular win total bet by tickets among all the wagers Pikkit has tracked, and it's captured the fourth-most money of any win total bet at DraftKings. Advertisement 'The Cowboys label themselves as America's team, but there are a few teams out there like that for betting popularity, and the Bears are one of them,' Avello said. 'There are Chicago fans everywhere — even where I live in Vegas, there are a bunch of Bears fans here. The Bears are just normally a team that gets bet with us, regardless, so I'm not surprised they've been taking money.' (Photo of Caleb Williams: John Fisher / Getty Images)
New York Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Ashton Jeanty to the Bears rumors are swirling, and betting odds are on the move
Christian Cipollini, trading manager at BetMGM, has said that 'books tend not to do well on the draft.' Recently, rumors, coupled with the rise of social media, have played a significant role in that outcome. A couple of years ago, a Reddit post by a random user lit the internet and sportsbooks on fire. A poster had said that Will Levis was 'telling friends and family that Carolina will take him on Thursday.' The post, of course, got aggregated and amplified across all of the internet, causing Levis' No. 1 pick odds to free-fall from +4000 to +400, with all of the bets coming in on Levis to be the first pick. Advertisement Another rumor has now taken over the lead-up to the 2025 NFL Draft, this one dealing with Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty. While no NFL insider has officially announced anything regarding Jeanty, all major sportsbooks have seen his odds shift drastically as of Thursday afternoon. Earlier this week, Jeanty became the betting favorite to be the fifth overall pick at BetMGM. That pick currently belongs to the Jacksonville Jaguars. As of Thursday morning, the Jaguars were -200 (bet $200 to win $100) favorites to draft Jeanty, followed by the Las Vegas Raiders and Chicago Bears at +300 (bet $100 to win $300 each), respectively. But, those odds have moved significantly leading up to the draft, as the Bears are now -190 favorites to land Jeanty, with the Jaguars in second at +135 and the Raiders a distant third at +850. Jeanty is still the clear favorite to be the fifth overall pick as well at BetMGM, as he's priced at -300. The second choice is Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham at +360. So, if the odds are suggesting Jeanty will be the fifth pick and that the Bears will draft Jeanty, the question on everyone's minds becomes: Do we have a trade brewing? 'We saw something similar with J.J. McCarthy last year, where there was late movement on his team odds that suggested a trade would happen,' said Christian Cipollini, trading manager at BetMGM. 'With what we're seeing on the bookmaking side, there's certainly a lot of interest in Jeanty now going to the Bears. It's enough where it's flipped from where he was a small favorite this morning to go there to now us having it as a 65% chance that he ends up going to the Bears.' And where does this all leave the Jaguars? The Bears currently hold the No. 10 pick, and there has been a significant shift for that market as well. On Monday, Penn State tight end Tyler Warren was the +350 favorite to be the 10th overall pick, followed by Jeanty at +375. Much further down the board was Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan at +2200 odds. Even earlier Thursday, McMillan was still listed as a +1100 long shot. Advertisement But McMillan is now a +325 co-favorite with Warren to be the 10th pick, even though the Bears already have D.J. Moore and last year's first-round pick, Rome Odunze, at wideout. The Jaguars, meanwhile, have a bunch of question marks in their receiving corps behind Brian Thomas Jr., especially with Christian Kirk moving on to the Kansas City Chiefs and Evan Engram joining the Denver Broncos. Additionally, BetMGM also has a betting market for which team will draft McMillan. The Jaguars are now +175 co-favorites there along with the Dallas Cowboys. No other team has odds shorter than +1100, except for those two. Bets have also been pouring in today on another major move in the top 10, this time for a quarterback. 'There's been the most action on Jeanty and McMillan props today, along with Jaxson Dart,' Cipollini said. 'We've taken a lot of money on him to go in the top 10 and top 5. He hasn't been projected in that range, but we've seen a good amount of action of him going a lot higher than expected.' Dart's odds to be selected in the top 5 have moved from +6700 earlier today down to +750 — the same price as Shedeur Sanders. Dart also moved from +550 to +310 to be a top-10 pick, having better odds in that market than Sanders at +400. Will we see a major swap involving the Jaguars' No. 5 pick and the Bears' No. 10 pick tonight? Regardless of what happens, the sportsbooks are not taking any chances.
Reuters
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Sportsbooks continue rooting against Duke in all-chalk Final Four
March 31 - With all four No. 1 seeds reaching the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 17 years, Duke is the favorite to best the rest. Early odds updates after the conclusion of the Elite Eight on Sunday pegged the Blue Devils as the clear favorites over Auburn, Houston and Florida in the race for the national championship. Duke will play Houston in one national semifinal this Saturday in San Antonio, with SEC rivals Auburn and Florida colliding in the other. BetMGM lists Duke as the -110 favorite to win the championship after starting the season at +1100. The problem for BetMGM is that Duke carries far and away the largest handle (40.5 percent) and the most tickets (14.1 percent), making the Blue Devils their No. 1 liability. "All one-seeds reach the Final Four for just the second time in the NCAA Tournament and the first since 2008," BetMGM trading manager Christian Cipollini said in a release. "The tournament has gone in the bettors' favor with favorites consistently winning. The sportsbook is cheering against a Duke-Florida final." One notable bet reported by BetMGM saw $500,000 placed on Duke to win the national title at +350 odds. Florida is responsible for the second-largest share of the tickets (9.1 percent) and the handle (11.7 percent) at the sportsbook. Elsewhere, Duke was the +105 favorite to win the title at FanDuel Sportsbook and +110 via Auburn, despite being the top overall seed in the tournament field, finds itself with the longest odds to win it all. The Tigers are +500 at BetMGM, FanDuel and Auburn beat Michigan State 70-64 in the South Region final Sunday shortly after Houston defeated Tennessee 69-50 in the Midwest Region final. Both of those games pitted No. 1 seeds against No. 2s. On Saturday, Florida rallied for an 84-79 win over No. 3 Texas Tech in the West Region final and Duke ran away from No. 2 Alabama 85-65 in the East final.
Reuters
20-02-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
4 Nations Face-Off: Canada-U.S. Preview, Props & Prediction
February 20 - The championship of the first-ever 4 Nations Face-Off will come down to a United States-Canada rematch on Thursday night in Boston. The highly anticipated final is expected to draw huge television ratings, and sportsbooks are expecting to see heavy action on the game as well. The first meeting between the teams -- a 3-1 win by the U.S. -- was already the most-bet hockey game of the year at BetMGM, where four of the six most-bet have come from this tournament. "We expect the USA-Canada final to be the most bet hockey game of the year," senior trading manager Christian Cipollini said. ODDS AND TRENDS The U.S. is a 1.5-goal favorite at the sportsbook, where the Americans have been backed by 69 percent of all spread-line bets and 66 percent of the money. However, the public has been nearly split on the moneyline, which is -110 for both teams, with the U.S. drawing 52 percent of the money. "Canada winning would be a good outcome for the sportsbook," Cipollini said. The total goals scored line of 5.5 has seen the Over backed by 70 percent of the bets and 61 percent of the money. PROP PICKS Over 1.5 Goals Scored 1st Period (-102 at BetMGM): This has been the most-bet prop at the book. The first meeting featured only four total goals, but Canada's first three games have averaged 6.3 goals. Connor McDavid Anytime Goalscorer (+210): McDavid has been the most popular play to find the back of the net at some point Thursday night. The Edmonton Oilers captain's breakaway goal was the main highlight for Canada during Saturday night's loss in round-robin play in Montreal. INJURY REPORT Charlie McAvoy is out for the U.S. with a shoulder infection and Quinn Hughes is likely to be, also. The Vancouver Canucks captain -- sidelined with an oblique injury since Jan. 31 -- practiced for the second straight day on Wednesday in Vancouver, but he will not join Team USA in Boston for the 4 Nations Face-Off final against Canada. Hughes -- one of six players initially named to the U.S. side in June -- was held out of the Canucks' final four games before the tournament and was eventually replaced by Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson. With six defenders still available to play on Thursday night, Hughes would be ineligible unless another blue-liner is injured. "The rules are the rules. I can't play unless anyone else gets injured, and I obviously don't want to see anyone get injured," Hughes said on Tuesday. "It's been fun to watch. Hard for me to watch. I'm close with a lot of those USA guys and proud of how they've been playing. And the six (defensemen) that have been there, of course, I want them to play. They've gotten us to the point where we're in a championship game now, and those guys also deserve to play. "But in saying that, it's obviously been hard for me. I'm a competitor, and I feel like I want to play and need to be there." McAvoy, American captain Auston Matthews and the forward duo of brothers Brady and Matthew Tkachuk sat out Monday's 2-1 loss to Sweden. U.S. coach Mike Sullivan expects all but McAvoy to play, including Brady Tkachuk, who missed Wednesday's practice. Replacing McAvoy's ability -- especially after a strong physical performance against Canada -- will be challenging. "He's a guy that brought it," U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck said. THE NEWS Regardless of how any lineup decisions shake out, the challenge will remain the same. "Don't give 'em time and space. Stay above McDavid and (Nathan) MacKinnon. Don't let them gain speed," U.S. defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. "That's what (defensemen) love to do, right? Play against the best guys in the world and try to shut them down." Canada's roster situation is more settled as defenseman Cale Makar returned from an illness for the final round-robin game against Finland. After missing the first U.S. matchup, the three-time All-Star and former Norris Trophy winner looks forward to getting his crack at a winner-take-all game in best-on-best play. "Obviously, it's going to be a lot of fun," Makar said. "Big rivalry game. Excited to be out there with the group and battle hard. ... The passion runs deep for both sides. "I know both teams are going to be really excited." Canada entered the tournament with significant big-game experience, including 15 of the 28 total Stanley Cup-winning players across the four rosters. Captain Sidney Crosby has three NHL championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins as well as two Olympic gold medals with Team Canada. While Bruins captain Brad Marchand looks to help Canada in his home NHL building, teammates like the Florida Panthers' Sam Reinhart have played plenty of games at TD Garden as an opponent. Thursday is just another Game 7 type of assignment. "Sometimes it's fun going into the fire on the road a little bit," Reinhart said. "It's a situation you want to be in, you have to earn to be in." As for Marchand, the 36-year-old is serving as more of a role player alongside the likes of Crosby, McDavid and MacKinnon. However, coach Jon Cooper had nothing but praise for his contributions to the Canadian national team. "I can't say enough about what he's done not only on the ice, but off the ice, galvanizing this group, especially being in his home city here for a few days," Cooper said. "His heart is the shape of a maple leaf, and it's awesome to be around him," he added earlier this week. THEY SAID IT --"It's been really cool for three or four days to see the whole world following this sport. We've built for this moment. ... Now we're here, and they know what they have to do to finish it off." --Cooper --"It was a very competitive game the first game, and I would anticipate the next one will be every bit as competitive, if not more. It's a great celebration of hockey. There are some generational talents on both sides. ... I feel like I've got the best seat in the house behind the bench." --Sullivan PREDICTION The final between bitter rivals is a fitting ending to what has been a smashing success for hockey with the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off. The Canadian forward group is uber-talented and the likely absence of Hughes is a significant factor for the strong American defense that has allowed only four goals through three games. --Canada 3, United States 2 --Field Level Media
