Tag: Odds

A bettor lost $1.4 million betting on the Chargers midgame

Guess this bettor didn’t know that it was always the Jags.

The Jacksonville Jaguars say they always believed they had a chance at coming back from a 27-point deficit to win Saturday night. One bettor didn’t and paid a hefty price for it.

According to Darren Rovell of Action Network, a bettor put $1.4 million on the Los Angeles Chargers to win after the team took a 27-0 lead in the second quarter. The Chargers were -12500 at the time, meaning the bettor aimed to win just $11,200 with the bet.

The massive risk for a relatively small reward blew up in the bettor’s face.

Jacksonville outscored the Chargers 31-3 in the remainder of the game, sealing their comeback with a field goal as time expired.

Other big losers Saturday were a couple of bettors who put six figures on the total to be under 47.5 points.

The winners Saturday were the brave folks who put some money on the Jaguars in the second quarter. Even at halftime, with Jacksonville trailing by 20, the team was +1200 to win on most sportsbooks.

2023 Sony Open odds, field notes, best bets and picks to win

Tom Kim and Waialae seem to be a match made in Heaven.

After a beautiful (and heartbreaking, but we’ll get to that later) week in Maui, it’s time to head over to another island for the Sony Open. Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth and Tom Kim highlight a solid field bound for the PGA Tour’s second event of the new year.

Waialae Country Club is a marksman’s paradise — a par-70 track measuring just more than 7,000 yards that requires accuracy on every shot.

Kim enters the week as the betting favorite at +1000 followed by Sungjae Im at +1300 and Spieth at +1500. The 20-year-old is coming off a T-5 performance at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Golf course

Waialae Country Club | Par 70 | 7,044 yards | Seth Raynor design

Michael Thompson walks on the 17th hole during the second round of the Sony Open in Hawaii golf tournament at Waialae Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Data Golf Information

Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. TPC Sugarloaf, 2. Colonial Country Club, 3. Austin Country Club

Trending (the players’ last three starts): 1. Brian Harman (2, T-2, T-16), 2. Maverick McNealy (T-18, T-10, T-27), 3. Tom Hoge (MC, MC, T-3)

Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Sungjae Im (7.2 percent), 2. Brian Harman (5.3 percent), 3. Tom Kim (5.1 percent)

Betting preview

Georgia’s already the early favorite to win the 2023-24 College Football Playoff

Who will hoist the trophy next season?

The 2022-23 season is in the books with the Georgia Bulldogs winning its second straight national championship under head coach Kirby Smart. And it looks like their reign might continue as Georgia leads the field to win again next season (+250) at BetMGM. Monday night’s title game was never in doubt as the Bulldogs took the lead and didn’t let off the gas against the TCU Horned Frogs.

Ohio State, which narrowly missed a title game appearance in 2022-23 is next on the board at +600, followed by USC and perennial powerhouse Alabama, both at +700.

Michigan (+1000) and Clemson (+1500) round out the top five.

National Championship Odds (via Caesars)

Can Georgia go for the three-peat in 2023-24?

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Jaguars open as home underdog vs. Chargers

The Jaguars are an underdog against the Chargers, despite their 38-10 win earlier this season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars traveled across the country in September to blowout the Los Angeles Chargers by 28 points, but oddsmakers don’t like their chances of doing it again.

At BetMGM, the Jaguars opened as a 2.5-point underdog for their playoff game against the Chargers at TIAA Bank Field.

The Jaguars and Chargers have never met in the postseason before, but the two teams have faced each other 10 times since 2010. Jacksonville was 0-5 on the road against the Chargers before winning this season in Week 3. The Jaguars are 3-4 all-time at home against the Chargers.

Jacksonville’s 38-10 win over Los Angeles in Week 3 comes with some caveats. Quarterback Justin Herbert was struggling with a rib cartilage fracture suffered in Week 2 and he was without star receiver Keenan Allen. On the other side of the ball, defensive end Joey Bosa played only 13 snaps before suffering a groin injury that kept him out for three months.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence finished that win with 262 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Packers are currently 5-point betting favorites over Lions for season finale

The Packers will go into Sunday night’s showdown as a decent betting favorite over the Lions.

The Green Bay Packers will go into Sunday night’s showdown with the Detroit Lions as betting favorites.

Per Tipico Sportsbook, the Packers are currently 5.0-point favorites over the Lions as of Friday afternoon. At many books, the Packers opened as 3.5-point favorites, so the line has shifted slightly Green Bay’s way over the course of the week.

The over/under is 49 points, the second-highest total of the week, meaning sportsbooks are expecting both the Packers and Lions to score.

With a win, the Packers clinch the seventh and final seed in the NFC playoffs.

The Packers have been favored three times during the four-game win streak and covered the spread each time. They also upset the Dolphins as an underdog on Christmas Day.

The danger for the Packers: the Lions have won four times straight up as an underdog and are 8-2 against the spread over the last 10 games.

Both the Packers and Lions are 8-8 straight up and 8-8 against the spread this season.

2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions odds, field, best bets and picks to win

Can Cameron Young finally break through in Hawaii?

Golf. It’s back.

After a month of hit and giggles and zero action, the PGA Tour returns in a big way on the island of Hawaii this week for the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the Tour’s first elevated event of 2023.

Due to its higher status, the field is jam-packed with the best golfers in the world — other than the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking. Players are allowed to miss one elevated event per season and Rory McIlroy is cashing his in early and will not tee it up in Kapalua.

Jon Rahm, last year’s runner-up, enters as the betting favorite at +650, followed by Scottie Scheffler at +900.

Cam Smith, the defending champion, is not in the field for obvious reasons.

Golf course

Plantation Course at Kapalua | Par 73 | 7,596 yards | Coore/Crenshaw design

2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions
Patrick Cantlay hits his tee shot on the 18th hole during the third round of the 2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua’s Plantation Course in Maui, Hawaii. (Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

Data Golf Information

Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. Riviera Country Club, 2. Monterey Peninsula Country Club, 3. Augusta National

Trending (the players’ last three starts): 1. Jon Rahm (T-4, 1, T-8), 2. Scottie Scheffler (T-3, T-9, 2), 3. Xander Schauffele (4, T-9, 4)

Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Jon Rahm (11.2 percent), 2. Scottie Scheffler (10.9 percent), 3. Xander Schauffele (8.7 percent)

Golfweek’s weekly podcast

Listen to Riley Hamel and Andy Nesbitt on this week’s episode of Twilight 9! The boys discuss Scott Stallings and his Masters invite, the Sentry TOC, picks for the week, a preview of 2023 and much more!

Follow the Twilight 9 Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Betting preview

College Football Playoff: Georgia is favored early over TCU to win second straight title

Looks like books are leaning Georgia over TCU, and by nearly two touchdowns.

The top-seeded Georgia Bulldogs pulled off a stunning comeback over No. 4 Ohio State as the calendar switched to 2023, sending the reigning national champs back to the title game. C.J. Stroud and the Buckeyes looked to have a chance to steal the upset, but the kick went wide left with three seconds to play.

Now, Stetson Bennett and Georgia will face No. 3 TCU — which beat No. 2 Michigan in another absolute barnburner of a game in the first semifinal — for the chance to go back-to-back as the top Dawgs (sorry, not sorry) of college football.

Despite the Horned Frogs running and passing all over Michigan’s stout defense, the Bulldogs are the early favorite to win the title game, per BetMGM.

Georgia is favored by nearly two touchdowns over TCU, and the books think we’ll have another high scoring affair as the Over/Under is set at 64.5 points to open.

A lot can happen between now and January 9, so we’ll keep an eye on any potential movement.

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Report: New Jersey sportsbooks strike Citrus Bowl betting due to Drew Brees

ESPN reports Drew Brees’ involvement with Purdue’s football team led New Jersey sportsbooks to pull Citrus Bowl odds given his business relationship with a betting outlet:

Come on, man. New Jersey sports bettors were thunderstruck on Friday when state regulators pulled odds for the upcoming Citrus Bowl matchup between the LSU Tigers and Purdue Boilermakers, citing a violation from “an individual associated with the Purdue Football team,” per ESPN’s David Purdum.

And who should be at the center of this controversy than former New Orleans Saints lightning rod Drew Brees? The electrifying future Hall of Fame quarterback stepped in to give his alma mater a jolt amid turnover on the coaching staff, with several of Purdue’s top playmakers bolting for the NFL draft. That includes their starting quarterback, so Brees’ presence should give them a nice surge for this matchup. His joining Purdue’s coaching staff on a temporary basis was announced on Dec. 15.

Unfortunately for the betting public, Purdum reports that Brees’ business relationship with the sportsbook PointBet violates state regulations. The New Jersey-based company partnered up with Brees in 2021 for a lucrative endorsement deal, in which Brees also received an equity stake in the gaming outlet. Having him endorsing a sportsbook while being involved with a team playing in a game featured on sportsbooks is a pretty clear conflict of interest. Brees was recently featured in a poorly-thought-out promotional stunt for PointsBet in which a hoax video depicted him being struck by lightning in South America.

A week after Brees’ hiring by Purdue was announced, PointsBet issued a statement on Dec. 22 saying that their relationship with Brees had ended in light of his joining the Purdue coaching staff:

“PointsBet would like to congratulate Drew Brees on his appointment as Interim Assistant Coach for the Purdue Boilermakers. While this is an exciting next step in his career, after careful review, we have decided to end our ambassador partnership agreement with Drew. Regulatory and legal compliance, responsible gaming practices, and the integrity of legal sports betting are top priorities for our organization and this decision will allow us to uphold that commitment. We wish Drew all the best as he returns home to his alma mater”

That departure apparently wasn’t enough to satisfy the New Jersey gaming division, though, so now the Purdue-LSU Citrus Bowl is off-limits. Kickoff is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 2.

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Jaguars open as 4-point road favorite vs. Texans

The Jaguars are unsurprisingly favored against the Texans, despite an early season loss.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been sub-.500 this season since October when a 13-6 home loss to the Houston Texans dropped the team to 2-3 on the year.

Nearly three months later, the Jaguars have a chance at a climbing back to .500 with a fourth straight win. Standing in their way are the Texans.

While the Texans won their first meeting and the rematch is in Houston, oddsmakers are unsurprisingly siding with the 7-8 Jaguars against the 2-12-1 Texans. At BetMGM, Jacksonville is a four-point favorite in the Week 17 contest. The scoring total is set at 43.5.

When the Texans came to TIAA Bank Field in October, they were out-gained by the Jaguars 422 total yards to 248. Despite the offensive output, Jacksonville turned the ball over twice and failed to convert any of its three fourth down tries. The Jaguars finished without a touchdown, while the Texans scored a game-winner with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

It was the only game this season that saw the Jaguars finished with less than 14 points.

Houston lost nine straight after beating Jacksonville, but snapped that streak Saturday with a 19-14 win over the Tennessee Titans. That victory for the Texans guaranteed that the Jaguars and Titans will play for the AFC South title in Week 18, regardless of Week 17 results.

We asked ChatGPT to predict the outcomes of college bowl games and things got weird

Is Texas back? Is the Mayo bath good? Who wins the CFP? We asked ChatGPT to predict all the answers.

The second ChatGPT went viral, the obvious question for bettors was how to best use this to beat the sportsbook.

The answer is also pretty obvious: It can’t. At least not yet.

Among the listed limitations of the truly impressive artificial intelligence app are three that any bettor thinking of using it should be weary of:

  1. May occasionally generate incorrect information
  2. May occasionally produce harmful instructions or biased content
  3. Limited knowledge of world and events after 2021

Any one of those would be bad enough. All three are a recipe for disaster….right? Maybe we should just find out anyways. And while we’re at it, let’s ask the bot some of bowl season’s biggest questions.

Surely nothing can go wrong!