If you’re getting ready for The Big Game, you might have some questions about sports betting at Borgata. The concept can look very confusing and intimidating if you have never participated before, but it can be broken down into very simple, straight-forward steps.
To start, if you are betting on a two team game (as opposed to a multi-participant event like golf or Nascar), your options are rather simple. You can choose to bet on one of the teams to win or on the total points scored by both teams.
First bet: Straight team bet
Example: The Los Angeles Rams are playing the Kansas City Chiefs. You believe the Chiefs are going to win. You walk into the Sports Book and see the following:
301 Los Angeles Rams +160
302 Kansas City Chiefs -3 ½ -180
What do these numbers mean? The “301” and “302” in front of the teams are simply the betting number assigned to them. If you decide you want to bet on the Chiefs, you will tell the cashier “302” and they will know you mean the Chiefs. The “-3 ½” next to the Chiefs is the point spread on the game. That means the Chiefs are favored to win the game by 3 ½ points. Therefore, if you believe the Chiefs can beat the Rams by more than 3 ½ points, you will simply tell the cashier the team number and how much you want to bet: “$20 on 302”. That means you bet $20 that the Chiefs will win by at least 4 points, in order for you to win your wager.
What happens though if you aren’t that confident the Chiefs will win by at least 4 points, but you still think they are going to win the game? That’s where the next numbers come in, called the money line. In the example above, the Chiefs odds on the money line are listed as -180. This means that you have to bet $180 on the Chiefs in order to win $100 (or to make it more simple, bet $1.80 in order to win $1). So, if you choose to bet the Chiefs on the money line, they can win by any amount and you still win the bet! If you wish to make this wager, you would tell the cashier “$20 on 302 money line.”
Second bet: Total points scored in the game
We will stick with the same game as the one above. You believe the Chiefs and the Rams will score over 60 points combined. The good news is you can bet this and make money on it!
When you look at the game listed in the Sports Book, you will see a column labeled “Total” next to the game’s listing. In this example, the total listed for the game is 58 ½. This means the Sports Book is saying that they believe both teams will combine to score 58 ½ points in the game. If you believe both teams can score more than that, you will bet “the over.” If you believe both teams will score less than 58 ½ points, than you will bet “the under.” If you are confident both teams will score more than 60 points, you will stick with the over wager. When you approach the cashier, you will say, “$20 on 302 over.” This means that if the Rams and Chief combine for at least 59 points scored in the game, you will win your bet!
There are many other types of bets and options, but the basic bets in a Sports Book are very simple to make and the cashiers can always help you if you are unsure.