When taking a sports-betting trip to New Jersey, it’s important to manage your time as well as your money. We’ll try to help with both with this Weekend Betting Guide. All odds are from William Hill as of Thursday morning (all are subject to change; always check for current odds).
Friday
This is an off-day for the World Cup, so there’s no reason to take the day off or leave early for Monmouth Park or Atlantic City (William Hill’s just-opened sports book on the Boardwalk at Ocean Resort Casino, and The Borgata). There are no major sporting events until the evening, with your choices of a full slate of 15 MLB games, beginning at 5:05 p.m. with Twins at Cubs, an Arena Football League game, two Canadian Football League games and four WNBA games.
Most people have their eye on the Yankees-Red Sox battle for first place in the AL East (pretty much a coin-flip, in my mind), but I’m seeing betting value in taking the NL Central cellar-dwelling Reds against the division-leading Brewers. The Reds had a two-game sweep of the Tigers last week, then a four-game sweep of the Cubs last weekend and just took two of three from the NL East-leading Braves, so they’re playing their best baseball and should be a live home underdog with Sal Romano, who just had a 14-inning scoreless streak snapped in his win over the Cubs on Sunday.
Saturday
The World Cup resumes at 10 a.m. with Argentina versus France in the first game of the knockout stage (round of 16). If you were betting (or just watching) during the group stage, you know games could end in a draw, and 3-way betting included the two teams and the draw option while there was also a 2-way option of betting with a point spread.
In the knockout stage, those bets are still available, with the draw paying out if the game is tied after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. And now you have another option to wager on which team will advance, which kicks in before the two 15-minute overtime periods and potential shootout if the game is tied).
Argentina and France are pretty evenly matched (the 2-way line is France -155/Argentina +135) and I actually believe the best bet is the draw at +205. Let them decide it in OT or a silly shootout, but you already will have cashed your ticket.
Everyone is fawning over Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, but Uruguay has a star in Luis Suarez and a better supporting cast, so I believe the value is in taking Uruguay to advance at -115.
Sunday
I wish I could make a case for host Russia keeping its run alive versus Spain, but I’m going to pass. In the game at 2 p.m., I will take underdog Denmark +¹/₂ goal (even money) in 2-way betting against Croatia. These teams are pretty even and we cash if Denmark wins in regulation or it ends in a draw.
In between the two World Cup games is what I feel will be the MLB game of the day at 1:10 p.m. I know it’s hard to bet against the Astros (especially with Charlie Morton listed as Houston’s probable pitcher), but Blake Snell makes the Rays a live home underdog.
The Sunday Night Baseball game is, of course, the Red Sox-Yankees. While everyone else is cheering for runs, I’ll likely be on the Under (hopefully it’ll be at least 8¹/₂ runs) with David Price versus Luis Severino and two of MLB’s best bullpens.
Bets of the future
If you really came prepared, you should have set aside some money for long-range bets that you’re wanting to make before you head back home. The betting boards are full of futures, including MLB, NFL, college football, college basketball, NBA, NHL and so on.
One suggestion I have is Novak Djokovic to win the Wimbledon men’s title at +550. I have him at 7/1, but my betting partner Jeff insists favorite Roger Federer is way too short at +120, so there’s still value on the second choice.
My best value bet on the NFL board is the Texans at 22/1 to win the Super Bowl. Think back to last fall when Deshaun Watson led the Texans to five straight games scoring 30-plus points before going down with a torn ACL. When he’s cleared to play as expected, I expect the Texans’ odds to drop.
If you have winning futures tickets, the bad news is you’ll have to go back to collect your winnings; the good news is you get to go back for another exciting weekend of sports betting!