Astros World Series Win over Dodgers Cost Las Vegas Sportsbooks Record $11.4M
December 28, 2017
The Houston Astros' World Series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers cost Nevada sportsbooks a record-setting $11.4 million on baseball betting in November, according to David Purdum of ESPN.com.
Those sportsbooks recovered nicely in football and basketball betting, however, as "Nevada sportsbooks actually won $9.8 million overall" in the month, the "52nd straight month the books have come out on top" dating back to July 2013.
The first 11 months of 2017 have netted the sportsbooks $213.6 million, per Purdum, which would make it the fourth most profitable year in history.
The Astros' romp through the postseason and seven-game victory over the Dodgers cost sportsbooks the most money on baseball since 1999 when the New York Yankees ' World Series triumph over the Atlanta Braves cost Las Vegas the previous high of $6.2 million.
Nevada Gaming Control's Mike Lawton offered more insight into the numbers, per Patrick Everson of Covers.com:
Patrick Everson @Covers_Vegas@Covers 2/ Per Nevada Gaming Control's Mike Lawton on November statewide sports betting numbers: "This was due to several factors including Game 7 (played Nov. 1), cashed tickets from previous games, and payouts made on prop bets on who would win the World Series." @Covers
According to Purdum, Houston's run included a number of wild betting stories, most notably the infamous "Bettor X" who placed winning bets on Games 1-6, winning an estimated $10 million in the process.
A lot of money moved around in general, per Purdum:
"More money was bet on Astros-Dodgers than any other World Series that [Johnny Avello, executive director of the Wynn race and sports] has ever booked during his 30-plus-year Las Vegas career. At William Hill's Nevada sportsbooks, the money bet on this year's World Series was triple the amount that was wagered on the 2016 World Series. The handle was massive, and so were the books' losses."
"It was an ugly, ugly World Series," Avello added.