Props Aplenty for Wild-Card Weekend and UFC Vegas 46
Betting picks, news, and promos for sports bettors by sports bettors
The best weekend of the NFL season is upon us: Super Wild Card Weekend. This is my personal favorite of the year, because of the volume of playoff games and the stakes at play. Sharps seem to be all over the Patriots headed into Saturday night’s game in Buffalo, which I’ll break down later.
We also have UFC fights this weekend for the first time in about a month. Some fights have fallen out due to COVID or injuries, but there are spots I like for this weekend's card in Las Vegas.
Lastly, New York sports betting launched last weekend. We promised you promo codes for New York, and that’s exactly what we have for you! Caesars has the best promo we have ever seen offered by a sportsbook. Check them all out below!
Wild Card Weekend Player Props | UFC Plays For This Weekend
Combining these because I will have a lot of content posted on Gaming Today for the NFL games and UFC fights. A bunch of these fights fell off, so apologies if that trend continues and we lose any listed below.
DeVonta Smith Over 42.5 Receiving Yards -115 (DraftKings)
The Buccaneers secondary is beat up. This one of my favorite bets of the week, as the Eagles should be honing in on Smith to help carry the load offensively.
Jonnu Smith Under 16.5 Receiving Yards -110 (FanDuel)
Jonnu Smith just doesn’t play enough for me to back the ‘over’ on any of his props. He is ‘under’ this number so frequently – in fact, in three of his last four and five of seven. Jonnu ‘unders’ should be good this weekend, win or lose.
On the Patriots-Bills game itself….Buffalo should win Saturday night, but I want to see where the line goes. If the Bills get down to -3, this will be a bet from me. At -4, it’s a pass. Even with the temperature in the single digits, I don’t see a New England victory.
Jennifer Maia wins by decision +260 (Caesars)
I would love to see the first round of this fight before placing my bet. Maia cannot strike with Katlyn Chookagain, who she lost to in November 2019, but should be able to out-wrestle her with the right gameplan. If she thinks she can strike with Chookagian, she is making a big mistake.
Brandon Royval wins by submission +195 (FanDuel)
This is the best line on the market by a healthy margin. Royval has submitted some of the divisions best fighters, and Rogerio Bontorin does have a submission loss already on his resume. Royval is a suffocating submission grappler and Bontorin has cardio questions.
Read my UFC Vegas 46 betting primer here.
New York Sportsbook Promo Codes | Unprecedented Activity On The First Weekend
Despite a hefty tax levied on the sportsbooks in New York, they are still bringing the heat to acquire sports betting customers. New York sports bettors can take advantage of Caesars’ earth-shattering $3,000 deposit match and $300 free bet just for signing up.
The second weekend may be even better. Dan Holmes outlines the events on New York’s wagering menu and lists the best bonus offers for sports bettors in the state.
We are still waiting on news on when BetMGM and PointsBet will launch. We should have information on that in the coming days, so bookmark the two links above if you have been waiting for those updates.
Gerlacher: New York Market Will Mature Quickly, Bonuses Could Evaporate Over Time
A huge tax burden is on sportsbooks in New York, so acquiring customers quickly is important. However, Chris Gerlacher writes sportsbooks could slow those bonus offers rather quickly.
Check out his story about the New York market, it’s phenomenal work.
Read: A Massive First Weekend In New York
Sportsbook Promotions 1/13: Take The DraftKings “No-Brainer” Bet | Last Week To Qualify For Caesars’ Free NBA Jersey Promotion
Each week, I search the sports betting market for promotions. Sometimes they are awesome, other times not so much. Rest assured, you will not miss another “no-brainer bet” again.
DraftKings Sportsbook: Hammer The Over – DraftKings is offering a huge boost for this weekend's Patriots vs. Bills game. The max bet here is $25.09, but for every 5,000 people who bet the ‘over’, the total is reduced by a half-point. At the time of writing, if the Patriots and Bills score more than 29.5 combined points, we all win our ‘over’ bets. This is almost free money, as the “Hammer the Over” promotion could get down to the low 20s or teens by game time.
FanDuel Sportsbook: Bettors are offered free bets when they make NFL Same Game Parlay wagers, win or lose. Minimum odds are +400 on these wagers. Good luck!
$20 - $49.99 in Cumulative NFL Wild Card SGP Wagers ----> $10 bonus in site credit
$50 - $99.99 in Cumulative NFL Wild Card SGP Wagers ----> $25 bonus in site credit
$100 - $199.99 in Cumulative NFL Wild Card SGP Wagers ----> $50 in site credit
$200+ in Cumulative NFL Wild Card SGP Wagers ----> $100 in site credit
Caesars Sportsbook: Emperor, Senator, President, Chancellor, Sports Betting King – whatever you want to call yourself – this time, there really are no losers. Caesars Sportsbook is offering all of its users a free NBA jersey when they use promo code – TODAYRF.
Go to the promos page and use code TODAYRF to qualify. Terms and conditions apply. Odds boost markets (no super-boosts), round robins, parlays, teasers, and player props all qualify for the promotion. Must be only NBA.
All you need to do is bet $100 cumulatively on NBA markets by January 16. Win or lose, you qualify for an NBA jersey. You will get an emailed NBAStore.com credit for $150 (cost of a jersey). Pick your favorite player and enjoy!
DraftKings Drops The Ball And Pays Millions In Draymond Green ‘Under’ Player Prop Parlays
This story is crazy. Warriors forward Draymond Green aggravated a calf injury pregame last Sunday, “Klay Day,” when teammate Klay Thompson made his return to the court. Green decided to start with the intention of leaving the game after a few seconds. The Warriors tweeted that information, and sports bettors took advantage by wagering tons of Same Game Parlays on Draymond Green player prop ‘unders’ before sportsbooks were able to react. The result was millions of dollars of losses for books, and DraftKings was hit particularly hard.
Read: A Twitter story of massive parlay wins for sports bettors
As always…. “Bet with your head, not over it…” -- Furio Giunta
~ Erich Richter, GamingToday Sports Betting Expert
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Online sports betting debuted in New York State last week. It seems like every
TV commercial in the area is for one of the four online sportsbooks currently
licensed to handle wagers in New York. Eventually, up to nine books will be
granted a license for the right to pay a usurious 51% tax on revenue (i.e., bettors’
losses) to the State, which is like a mafioso operation here. I would think that
eventually, several of the nine would say “No mas!” after looking at their net
profits following 51% taxation. My favorite moronic quote about it all: “This is
good news. It’s definitely good timing. We said we wanted mobile sports betting
to start before the Super Bowl. We’re ahead of schedule.” -- Assembly Gaming
and Wagering Committee Chairman Gary Pretlow (D-Mount Vernon).
Bobby Smith, Editor Sports Reporter
Really sad to see what has happened to GT. Shilling sportsbook promos for revenue while giving out picks is the ULTIMATE no-no for credibilty when you stand to profit from player losses. Then you dont even mention the crap 51% hold that New York state holds from betting revenue and how that affects lines, bonuses and marketing. A REALLY BAD DEAL for NY sports bettors but wonderful for marketers and profiteers. Despicable.