Sportsbook: NBA Finals on pace for "record handle"

LeBron and the Heat have bettors interested in the NBA Finals.

Jason Logan: Senior Betting Analyst at Covers
Jason Logan • Senior Betting Analyst
Jun 11, 2013 • 01:01 ET
Photo By - USA Today Sports
A massive handle through the first two games of the NBA Finals has sportsbooks thanking their lucky stars the Indiana Pacers didn’t upset the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Sportsbooks online and in Las Vegas are reporting what some say is a “record handle” on the first two games between the Heat and San Antonio Spurs, and expect that interest to continue through the rest of the series.

“This has been record handle so far and, given the way it’s gone, we could be looking at a long series as many anticipated,” Aron Black of Bet365.com told Covers.

Black says there was more money wagered on Games 1 and 2 of the finals than an entire season’s worth of NBA futures and NBA Finals series prices combined.

"To be honest, it goes up every year, regardless of teams," he says. "That's mainly due to global customer-base growth as well as availability on devices to bet with iPhone, android, tablet, etc. Last year saw the biggest action overall, with two very popular teams in Miami and Oklahoma City. But the last three years have seen large action per game, and this one is taking the cake for most action."

In Las Vegas, sportsbooks took lighter action on Game 1 Tuesday but were extremely busy for Game 2 Sunday. According to Jeff Stoneback, sportsbook manager at the MGM Mirage, the handle for Game 2 was 20 percent higher compared to Game 3 of last year’s NBA Finals, which also fell on a Sunday.

“Business has been very good, but I wouldn’t call it a record handle,” Stoneback told Covers. “I think a lot of that action was driven by the Heat losing the first game. People saw that as a good opportunity. We had more money on the Miami moneyline. We opened it -280 and closed it at -360.”

Down the road, the LVH Superbook was swamped by similar action. They had a near even split on Game 1 and a big lean towards the Heat in Game 2.

“The handle has been tremendous through the first two games,” Jeff Sherman, assistant manager at the LVH Superbook told Covers. “As for Game 3, it’s starting to trickle in but a majority of our handle comes in the hours leading up to the game.”

Oddsmakers currently have the Spurs set as 2-point home favorites for Game 3 Tuesday night.

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Jason Logan Senior Industry Analyst Covers.com
Senior Betting Analyst

In his 20 years with Covers, lead NFL betting analyst; has seen it all and bet it all. Through the wild west of early Internet gambling to lobbying for legalized sports betting to our brave new wagering world, Jason has been a consistent source of actionable info and entertainment for squares and sharps alike. Since joining the Covers team back in 2005, he honed his handicapping skills to provide audiences with the most thorough insights, blending traditional capping methods with advanced modelling and predictive analysis. Jason has studied the ins and outs of the sports betting business, learning from some of the most successful gamblers in the industry and the biggest sportsbook operators on the planet. He is under center for Covers during NFL season as our top NFL expert, taking the points in his infamous NFL Underdogs column and representing the Covers Community at the Super Bowl. While he lives for football season, Jasons first love is basketball and that shows in his in-depth NBA, NCAA, and WNBA betting breakdowns. On top of being a mainstay in media from coast to coast; WPIX, PHL17, Fox 5 San Diego, WGNO, TSN, SportsNet, ESPN Radio; he had his analysis featured in USA Today, MSNBC, ESPN, the Wall Street Journal, CBS, Bloomberg, the L.A. Times, the New York Times and other major publications. You can also find JLo stuffing all the top picks and predictions he can into 10 minutes as the host of Covers; flagship podcast, The Sharp 600. His best advice for bettors new and old is; Handicapping isn't a one size fits all process. The impact and importance of information varies from bet to bet. Treat each wager different than the last.

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