Watkins Glen Betting Notes: 2016 Cheez-It 355

Tony Stewart might be best value on odds board in Las Vegas.

Carl Edwards won the pole Saturday at Watkins Glen International, and track history suggests he’s a strong contender to win Sunday’s Cheez-It 355, the second and final race this season on a road course.

Edwards also won the pole at Sonoma Raceway’s road course in June, then finished fourth.

Edwards, listed at 8-1 odds, was already a strong contender based on his own history on the seven-turn, 2.45-mile road course at which he has an 8.4 average finish in 11 starts. His best finish was third in 2009, but his consistency has been incredible with eight top-10 finishes.

Track history shows the pole winner has won nine times in 33 Cup races. Las Vegan Kyle Busch was the last to do it in 2008.

Starting from the top five has produced 21 of the 33 winners, which makes those starting behind Edwards worthy of a strong look at the betting window. Kyle Larson (30-1) starts second, followed by Sonoma winner Tony Stewart (18-1), Matt Kenseth (30-1) and race co-favorite Busch (6-1).

Among those, Busch is the driver to beat. He’s a two-time winner at Watkins Glen with a 10.5 average finish, and he practiced extremely well in both of Friday’s 85-minute sessions, with top-five speeds that included having the best 10-consecutive lap average.

STEWART ON A ROLL

When Stewart came back after missing the first eight races this season, he looked as if he was just going through the motions to close out his final season. He didn’t have any top-five finishes in his first seven races, but something clicked at Sonoma. He won his eighth career road race there and first victory anywhere since 2013.

The win gave him a career reboot, and he started looking like Stewart circa 2011 when he won the last of his three Cup titles. In his past four starts, he’s finished fifth at Kentucky, second at New Hampshire, 11th at Indianapolis and fifth last week at Pocono.

His five wins at Watkins Glen are a track record, and in four of them, he started within the top five. He’s the best value on the board at 18-1.

NEW SURFACE AND TIRE

Along with the track being repaved after last season’s race, there was a new Goodyear tire compound that never has been used in the series. It’s a much harder compound that barely wears out. Las Vegan Kurt Busch said during an interview halfway through the second practice Friday that he was still using the same set of tires that ran all 27 laps during the first session.

The effect will create all kinds of opportunities for teams to scrap four-tire changes during pit stops and gain a few seconds, and positions, by taking two tires while fueling up.

Read More Here........Las Vegas Review-Journal

Updated Las Vegas World Series odds to win (8/3/16)

Detroit Tigers are rolling and look like decent value at 20/1 odds to win World Series.

Below is a list of the current future odds to win the 2016 World Series. The Chicago Cubs are the current favorites to win the 2016 World Series (7/2) at William Hill’s 106 Nevada Sports Books and on the Mobile Sports app.

   

@WILLIAMHILLUS ODDS TO WIN 2016 WORLD SERIES	Opening Odds (11/3/15)	Odds on (6/28/16)	Current odds (8/3/16)
NEW YORK METS	10/1	18/1	22/1
CHICAGO CUBS	10/1	+280	7/2
KANSAS CITY ROYALS	10/1	22/1	100/1
LOS ANGELES DODGERS	10/1	15/1	10/1
TORONTO BLUE JAYS	10/1	18/1	17/2
ST LOUIS CARDINALS	12/1	16/1	20/1
HOUSTON ASTROS	12/1	20/1	20/1
PITTSBURGH PIRATES	12/1	75/1	100/1
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS	12/1	5/1	5/1
TEXAS RANGERS	12/1	5/1	11/2
WASHINGTON NATIONALS	12/1	8/1	15/2
NEW YORK YANKEES	15/1	70/1	500/1
LOS ANGELES ANGELS	25/1	300/1	500/1
BOSTON RED SOX	25/1	12/1	12/1
SEATTLE MARINERS	25/1	28/1	75/1
MINNESOTA TWINS	25/1	2500/1	5000/1
CLEVELAND INDIANS	25/1	10/1	11/2
BALTIMORE ORIOLES	25/1	12/1	15/1
DETROIT TIGERS	25/1	30/1	20/1
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS	40/1	250/1	1500/1
TAMPA BAY RAYS	40/1	250/1	5000/1
CHICAGO WHITE SOX	40/1	28/1	125/1
CINCINNATI REDS	50/1	2500/1	5000/1
SAN DIEGO PADRES	50/1	1500/1	5000/1
OAKLAND ATHLETICS	50/1	500/1	1500/1
MIAMI MARLINS	75/1	30/1	18/1
MILWAUKEE BREWERS	75/1	1000/1	3000/1
ATLANTA BRAVES	100/1	5000/1	9999/1
COLORADO ROCKIES	150/1	75/1	100/1
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES	250/1	300/1	500/1

Las Vegas Sports Book Notes: It's go-time for the books

The Mirage sports book is always entertaining for ticket writers.

It is go time for Las Vegas sportsbooks with the calendar turning to August, which is a kind of alert bell signifying there are only four weeks to get all final football season preparations done.

There’s a check list many book directors go through to ensure they maximize earning potential in the final business quarter while also having procedures in place to stay in compliance with internal and state controls.

Is the book clean and ready to go with suitable TV’s? Are all the marketing campaigns and promotions already set in motion? Has the staff been given a refresher course on gaming regulations and has all the necessary hiring been done to properly accommodate longer business hours and more tickets written? The list is much longer, but you get the idea.

A JOB THAT'S FUN
If looking for employment on the Strip or at local properties, try writing bet tickets for one of the sportsbooks during football season. I’d estimate 50 percent of the seasonal labor increases have been put in motion already, but there’s still more hiring to be done all over town. In addition to competitive hourly wages, there’s also a percentage of tips that come your way based on hours worked. Write a few tickets, keep up with all the scores, enjoy the fast-paced environment with roaring crowds and then make some money on top of it.

Most of the openings are part-time, but if thinking further down the road the book might be a place where you want to make a career, this is where you start. Get your foot in the door anywhere. Absorb all the info you can, and most importantly, listen.

If you have a great attitude, can follow rules and balance your drawer, you’ll move up the ladder quickly. Every book supervisor, manager, director and VP currently in town went through the exact same process.

Read More Sports Book Notes Here....Gaming Today

Friday Night MLB Bet of Day: Mets need to take advantage of Phillies

Bartolo Colon allowed two runs or less in eight of past nine starts.

Mets at Phillies - 7:05 pm PT
Line: Mets -125, total: 9

The Mets may be six games out of first-place in the NL East, but being 47-41 at the break might be exactly where they want to be. They were 47-42 at this stage last season and then went 43-30 down the stretch to win the division and eventually made the World Series. To kick off the Mets second-half run, Bartolo Colon is a -125 road favorite against the Phillies (39-47) and Jeremy Hellickson.

Colon (7-4, 3.33 ERA) didn't have his best outing last time out, but still was able to pick up the 9-7 win against the Nationals. In 4.2 innings of work, the Nats hit him harder than anyone this season tagging him for 10 hits, six runs and three homers. The outing halted an eight game run where the hefty 43-year old had allowed two runs of less while the Mets went 6-2 behind him, including outdueling Jake Arrieta July 2 in a 4-3 win against the Cubs.

Hellickson (6-6, 3.92) is currently on the best run of his season allowing one earned run in each of his past three starts -- all Philly wins. The Phillies had lost his six prior starts. He's faced the Mets twice this season and the Phils won both games, including a 5-4 win April 20 against Colon.

The Mets lost three straight before the break, but now it's go time. They're going to have to win series and games like this the rest of the way if they want postseason action again. Losing to Philly right out of the gate wouldn't be the message they want to send to their fans or themselves.

Let's go with the Mets to win and get their roll started. They should be a very profitable team over the next three weeks.

Second-half MLB projections: What team makes that epic run to playoffs?

The Indians are considered favorites to win the American League.

LAS VEGAS — The first-half of the season is in the rear view mirror and the second half of the season starts Friday, so its a perfect time to speculate what might happen the rest of the way. What teams currently leading the division will falter down the stretch like the the Angels and Nationals did in 2015 and what teams will make an incredible second half surge to a playoff birth like the Mets, Cubs, Rangers and Blue Jays did last year? We have a few ideas so let's glance through each division.

AL EAST (Westgate World Series odds: TOR 12/1, BOS 12/1, BAL 12/1, NYY 100/1, TB 1,000/1)
The opening odds to win division at MGM Resorts showed the AL East was expected to be the most competitive division and at the halfway point it's the only division with its second-place team being less than 5.5 games back. Baltimore has a two-game lead over the Red Sox and Blue Jays and 7.5-game lead over the Yankees.

The Orioles were 4-to-1 to win the division when the season started behind co-favorites Boston and Toronto at 2-to-1. The Red Sox bats have been incredible with an MLB-leading .292 average and 5.6 runs a game, but the pitching is horrendous, allowing 4.9 runs a game. The Blue Jays bats have woken up lately and they have a good enough rotation to be able to win the division for the second consecutive year. The Orioles have some bats too, but even with Chris Tillman working wonders every five days, their rotation ranks No. 28 with a 5.15 ERA. Look for Toronto to edge out Boston for the division crown and Boston to play in the wild card game.

Read More Here........all projected division winners on TheLinemakers.com

William Hill odds to win 2016 MLB MVP and Cy Young Awards

Las Vegan Bryce Harper is having everyone belive he is the next coming of greatness in MLB.

AL/NL CY YOUNG & MVP UPDATED ODDS AND TRENDS

Below are two charts showing the current odds and trends for the top 5 players to win the AL/NL CY Young and the top 10 players to win AL/NL MVP award at William Hill’s 105 Nevada Sports Book and on the Mobile Sports app. The percentage of total dollars wagered are also listed in the chart for each category. Bettors currently favor Clayton Kershaw (51%) and Chris Sale (48%) the most by total dollars wagered to win the NL/AL CY Young award. Bryce Harper (82%) and Jose Altuve (65%) are being backed the most at William Hill to win the NL/AL MVP award.

@WILLIAMHILLUS ODDS TO WIN 2016 NL CY YOUNG	Current Odds (4/26/16)	% of total $’s Wagered @WILLIAMHILLUS	@WILLIAMHILLUS ODDS TO WIN 2016 AL CY YOUNG	Current Odds (4/26/16)	% of total $’s Wagered @WILLIAMHILLUS
CLAYTON KERSHAW	3/2	51%	CHRIS SALE	7/5	48%
JAKE ARREITA	3/2	40%	SONNY GRAY	17/2	38%
FIELD	4/1	5%	FIELD	+225	8%
MADISON BUMGARNER	12/1	2%	DAVID PRICE	10/1	3%
JOHNNY CUETO	25/1	2%	DALLAS KEUCHEL	10/1	2%

@WILLIAMHILLUS ODDS TO WIN 2016 NL MVP	Current Odds (4/26/16)	% of total $’s Wagered @WILLIAMHILLUS	@WILLIAMHILLUS ODDS TO WIN 2016 AL MVP	Current Odds (4/26/16)	% of total $’s Wagered @WILLIAMHILLUS
BRYCE HARPER	EVEN	82%	JOSE ALTUVE	15/2	65%
ANTHONY RIZZO	12/1	7%	CHRIS SALE	20/1	15%
CLAYTON KERSHAW	25/1	3%	MANNY MACHADO	11/2	5%
NOLAN ARENADO	18/1	2%	MOOKIE BETTS	40/1	4%
KRIS BRYANT	17/2	1%	JOSH DONALDSON	5/1	3%
FIELD	4/1	1%	JOSE ABREU	18/1	3%
ANDREW MCCUTCHEN	12/1	1%	CARLOS CORREA	4/1	2%
BUSTER POSEY	10/1	1%	MIGUEL CABRERA	30/1	1%
JASON HEYWARD	75/1	1%	EDWIN ENCARNACION	50/1	1%
PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT	15/1	1%	MIKE TROUT	5/2	1%