With the 2019 NFL season now in full swing, the betting markets in Las Vegas (and online) are, as expected, extremely active.
Several betting trends have emerged heading into the Week 4 weekend NFL action, and most come as no surprise.
“It’s important to remember that the public always leans towards the perceived better team,” Jay Kornegay, VP of the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, told me on Saturday night. “The Chiefs have been popular all week [with the public], especially with the news of [Matthew] Stafford’s injury. The Cowboys on Sunday night, that will be one of, if not the, biggest decisions for us, particularly if a lot of favorites cover during the day. We will have a lot of parlay cards riding on Dallas.”
As of Saturday night, the bulk of the public money the Westgate had taken was on the Chiefs (-6.5 up to -7.5) and Cowboys (-2.5 up to -3.5), followed by the Los Angeles Rams (-9 up to -10), New England Patriots (-7 or -7.5), Houston Texans (-4 up to -5.5), and Indianapolis Colts (-5.5 up to -6.5), according to Kornegay.
This should come as no surprise, but the sharp money was going in a completely different direction.
Sharps were all over the New York Giants at -2 and -2.5, but backed off when the line moved to -3; they liked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at -10 or higher; and they were on the Minnesota Vikings at +2 or higher.
Westgate was expecting to take the most total money on the Cowboys/Saints Sunday night matchup, followed by the Vikings/Bears matchup during the day. For the morning slate, they were expecting the Chiefs/Lions game to draw the most action.
The Westgate took a five-figure wager on the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, and had already taken five-figure wagers on the Texans and Vikings (twice) for Sunday. When we spoke, Kornegay was expecting a few more large wagers to be placed before kickoff on Sunday.
