Those joints are working with the smallest house advantage of the books surveyed. The smaller the house edge, the better it is for the gambler. The larger the house edge, the worse it is for the gambler.
Bringing up the rear in the review of basketball money lines are Caesars Palace and related properties, Leroy's, Station books and the Stratosphere group. Sports bettors are highly likely to find better bets by shopping elsewhere.
Following are highlights of the survey, with books listed from best to worst from a bettor's viewpoint:
Best money lines in Las Vegas: Cal Neva, Cantor, Lucky's, LVH, South Point group: These books earned top honors for their strong showing across the board, starting in the range in which underdogs are around +170 on the money line. For instance, Cal Neva and Lucky's price favorites at only -190 when the underdog is +170. Other examples of above-average pricing from this group include -230/+195 (Cantor), -250/+220 (Cantor), -200/+175 (Cal Neva, LVH, Lucky's) rather than the standard structure of -200/+170 elsewhere, etc. Bettors can expect to find a good selection of games with money lines offered as well as good to excellent value on the money lines themselves at these books.
Average: Boyd/Coast group, MGM properties, TI, Wynn: Value on basketball money lines at these joints is OK, but these books fall short compared with the top-rated books for one or more reasons. For example, their structures of -200/+170 or -210/+175 are slightly inferior to the best books, and/or they can't compete with the likes of -230/+195 at Cantor, and/or they keep too many games' money lines off the board compared with the top-rated books. MGM often offers more money lines than average on games with higher spreads, but with slightly worse lines; for instance, -925/+625 instead of the -900/+650 available at a top-rated book.
Worst: Caesars Palace, Leroy's, Station, Stratosphere: From a gambler's perspective, the worst basketball money lines are at these properties. For example, when the underdog is +220, the favorite is -280; when the underdog is +250, the favorite is -330; when the underdog is +300, the favorite is -400, etc. Bettors are giving money away betting into lines like those.
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