Game day: Raiders complete comeback win over Baltimore, 26-23

Sep 15, 2024 (2 a.m.)

By Mike Grimala , Case Keefer

Score one for Gardner Minshew, as the Raiders just rode their underdog quarterback to a 26-23 upset win in Baltimore. The Raiders ran for just 28 yards on the day at a clip of 1.6 yards per carry, but in the end it didn't matter, as Minshew made big throw after big throw ...

Both UFC belts at risk change hands in Sphere spectacular

Sep 14, 2024 (7 p.m.)

By Case Keefer

Sphere’s presentation was inescapable in its live-sporting event debut, and the athletes made sure the sold-out crowd got their money’s worth. ...

Sunday Sweats: Eight bets to add to your NFL Week 2 card

Sep 14, 2024 (2 p.m.)

By Case Keefer

The wish was that the arrival and rebirth of the Sunday Sweats would trigger a turnaround for the recently dwindling bottom line of the weekend betting column, and it came true in Week 1. ...

Local fighters in spotlight for historic UFC card at Sphere

Sep 14, 2024 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

The card is loaded with nine Mexican natives or residents including Daniel Zellhuber, but there’s also another less obvious class of fighters in abundant supply: Five athletes who train out of Las Vegas will ...

Raiders relying on unfamiliar faces after pair of defensive line injuries

Sep 13, 2024 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

Ten out of 11 expected Raiders’ defensive starters trotted out onto the field at SoFi Stadium for the first possession of the season last week. The lone surprise was a big one. Charles Snowden, who didn’t make ...

UFC promising a sporting event that 'will never, ever be replicated' in debut at Sphere

Sep 12, 2024 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

The origin of one of the most anticipated and expensive fight cards in Las Vegas history traces back to Tom Brady and U2.

Vegas pick'em: NFL Week 2 winners against the spread

Sep 12, 2024 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

Three Week 2 point spreads rose above the rest this year, having shifted at least a field goal following the first set of games. ...

Alexander Mattison carving out a bigger role in Raiders’ offense

Sep 12, 2024 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

The Raiders started using more of a running back by committee approach as training camp went on, and now it appears likely the workload will be evenly split starting with Sunday’s Week 2 at the Baltimore Ravens. ...

College football by the odds: Vegas picks and preview of Week 3

Sep 11, 2024 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

Everything has changed in college football this year, and that includes the timing of some classic in-state showdowns. There’s naturally a lot of complaining about the reverberations and unintended consequences from the birth of megaconferences ...

Raiders beaten at their own game against Chargers to start the season

Sep 9, 2024 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

The Chargers took the Raiders’ best shots in Week 1 but kept standing and coming forward until they broke the SoFi Stadium visitors with a runaway second half to win 22-10. ...

Vegas-style college football preview: Pac-12 at the sports book

Aug 1, 2013 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

When the Pac-10 extended hastily accepted invitations to Utah and Colorado for the 2011 college football season, many hailed it as the dawning of the age of “super conferences.”

Vegas-style college football preview: Mountain West at the sports books

Jul 24, 2013 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

The never-ending footrace between Boise State and bookmakers may feature a new leader for the first time in nearly two decades. The popular narrative of non-BCS conference Boise State baffling the country with its run of sustained success once rang truest in Las Vegas.

Sports books favor Heat to win next year's NBA title but Clippers moving up

Jun 24, 2013 (3 p.m.)

By Case Keefer

The Miami Heat’s championship parade drew to a close Monday in a fashion typical for these types of celebrations — with talk of next season. The back-to-back NBA champions fielded questions about potentially pulling off the first three-peat in more than a decade next season. Las Vegas has answers, or at least valuable insight into the likelihood of it happening.

NBA Finals in Vegas: Sports book facts and figures on Heat comeback, Game 7

Jun 20, 2013 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

The dramatic finish in Game 6 of the NBA Finals caused at least three different groups of people spread throughout the country in separate time zones to look foolish. There were, of course, the much-ridiculed Miami fans who fled the American Airlines Arena exits early before their Heat sparked to win 103-100 in overtime. San Antonio supporters who flooded the Riverwalk anticipating a celebration before their Spurs dulled took their barbs, too.

NBA Finals in Vegas: Heat victory tonight could mean big business to sports books

Jun 18, 2013 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

Tonight marks the closest equivalent to Groundhog Day for local sports books. If the Miami Heat win to extend the NBA Finals to a Game 7, brightness in the form of money gets one last hurrah. Dim the lights around betting windows, though, if they lose.

NBA Finals in Vegas: Sports books took hit on Heat; zig-zag calls for Spurs tonight

Jun 16, 2013 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

Sports book directors may have flopped to the floor harder than Chris Bosh as game four of the NBA Finals wound down. Unlike the minor contact Tim Duncan made with Bosh, the Miami Heat actually inflicted pain on bookmakers. They cost Las Vegas books far more than the $5,000 the NBA fined Bosh for his embellishment, too.

NBA Finals in Vegas: Spurs a small favorite over Heat in series and Game 4

Jun 13, 2013 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

Don’t make the same mistake some analysts made Tuesday night. Don’t pen the Miami Heat’s eulogy yet. Despite an embarrassing 113-77 loss to San Antonio in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Miami is a victory Thursday night away from regaining its status as the favorite in the series, according to Las Vegas odds.

NBA Finals in Vegas: What the odds say about home court format for Heat, Spurs

Jun 11, 2013 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

LeBron James has experienced both the supposed greatest benefit and biggest drawback to the NBA Finals’ 2-3-2 home court format over the past couple of years. The Heat are now minus-175 (risking $1.75 to win $1) to win the series with the Spurs coming back at plus-155 (risking $1 to win $1.55).

NBA Finals in Vegas: Spurs now favored in series but history on Heat's side in game two

Jun 9, 2013 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

Fans in San Antonio might as well crank Rihanna’s breakthrough single “Umbrella” and dust off those black and silver Robert Horry jerseys. They should party like it’s June 2007, and not just because their Spurs are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since suppressing this very King (James) six years ago.

What you need to know about betting on the NBA Finals in Las Vegas

Jun 6, 2013 (2 a.m.)

By Case Keefer

According solely to future odds in Las Vegas sports books, Miami was 13 percent more likely to win the title before the just-concluded series with the Indiana Pacers ever began. The LVH Superbook had the Heat at minus-400 (risking $4 to win $1) to win the NBA title on May 20. Now they’re just minus-220. San Antonio’s numbers swayed the opposite direction, as it was plus-450 to end the season with a championship before a near pick’em Western Conference Finals series against the Memphis Grizzlies.