The Metro Report: What's Next?

The year is winding down! as we approach the holidays I want to share with you what I have on my agenda. This is my personalize version of the Metro Report. I am covering the gaming in the following cities. Philadelphia,New York City and Washington DC. are taking center stage between now and Christmas.

In Philly, I had the opportunity to interview two of the top General Managers on the East Coast. I am strongly considering doing more of these. Two of the top restaurants in the city are mentioned and recommended. Check out the interview here. 

Next week in New York City and the Meadowlands Exposition Center in New Jersey. the SBC North America will convene. I am honored to be part of a panel that will tackled the question of How to nurture talent to your sports betting operations. The panel will be moderated by Bronwen Gregg, The other panel members include Allison Bassman,Director of People and Culture for Penn Interactive,Noemie Levy, Talent Acquisition Manager for Bet MGM and Holly Gagnon Co-CEO of Artemis Strategic Investment Corporation. Some of the subjects we will cover include job opportunities,working remotely vs. working on property and diversity. I may have a surprise interview while in NYC. Stay tuned!

Here is a look back at SBC 2019. It includes part of the team from SeventySix Capital. Former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie and Newly Reelected Governor Phil Murphy attended this event.

 

Then I'll easy down 95 to Washington DC to the Capital One Arena. James Van Stone and the team at Monumental Sports and Entertainment are among the leaders in bringing sports betting to a stadium style venue.  They are the model to emulate and started trends with sports wagering centric broadcasts of Washington Wizards and Washington Capital games. I will be seeing how a world class organization does it first hand with a game day experience that you will not want to miss. The Wizards are currently 4th in the NBA Eastern Conference and will be playing the Utah Jazz.

So this is what's next for me. If you are on LinkedIn, we can have a professional exchange there. If you chat on Twitter,then follow me and we can tweet about gaming and professional sports like NFL & NBA.  Videos similar to what  you saw earlier can be found on Instagram and Facebook.  Stay with me and we can roll into 2022 together. 

The Metro Report: Sports Betting in New York, Washington DC & Philly

Since the advent of Sports Betting the coverage of the New York, Washington DC and Philadelphia markets are essential to prognosticators. So I will expand with my Gaming Guy News minutes into the 3 top cities on the East Coast.

The Sixers are leading the Eastern Conference with a 13-6 record. They defeated the Lakers on Wednesday 107-106. The Sixers got the test they needed to pass to show they are legitimate contenders for the championship. The wins over Boston earlier in the season were good but Jayson Tatum did not play in either game.  Joel Embiid is one of the names mentioned as a top candidate for MVP along with Lebron James. Doc Rivers should receive some consideration for Coach of the Year if the Sixers win more than 50 games. In games that Embiid does not play, the Sixers are 0-4. Embiid is listed as questionable against the Timberwolves. The Sixers are favored by 7 and the total is 224.  The Timberwolves are one of the worst teams in the league so the Sixers should handle them. 

The Brooklyn Nets have a record of 12-8. They have won 3 straight and are 7 -3 over the their last 10 games. Kevin Durant is leading the league in scoring while James Harden is leading in assists.  The Big Three is working at an optimum level offensively.  They lead the league in scoring with 119.8 per game. They are also number one in field goal percentage. They are a work in progress defensively. They are 26th in points allowed. Most of their games trend over. The Nets play the Thunder tonight and they are -9.5 with the total set at 231.5.

The Washington Wizards are continuing to struggle with a 3-11 record. They are last in defense. The Wizards are 4th in points per game. So a change in defensive philosophy is required. They may have to become more creative by trapping the opposing team's top scorer or play a zone to force the opponent to shoot from outside. The Bradley Beal trade rumors continue. I would like to see him and Russell Westbrook stay put. The Wizards have missed several games due to Covid protocols and not having enough players available to dress for the games.  This indicates that guidelines were not adhered to. The Wizards are at home tonight against the Atlanta Hawks. They are getting 4 and the total is 234.

The New York Knicks have a record of  8-11. They are 4th in the league in rebounding. They allow the fewest points to be scored against them. However, they struggle to score over 100 points a game. That equates to 47% of their 19 games. When  they play a team that is ranked in the top 15 defensively this is a trending under play on how many the Knicks will score as a team. The Knicks play the Cavaliers tonight and they are +1.0. The total is 208.0.

My Sports Betting Minute Tip of the day is for NBA action and in game wagering. 

The Eagles have selected Nick Sirianni as their new head coach. Sirianni most recently served as offensive coordinator for the past three seasons in Indianapolis under Frank Reich, who became the Colts' head coach after helping the Eagles win Super Bowl LII. In that role, the up-and-coming NFL coach played a major part in helping Indianapolis reach the postseason in 2018 and 2020. This week Duce Staley decided to to go to the Detroit Lions as their running back coach.  This disappointed some Eagles fans who wanted to see him as the coach to replace Doug Pederson. The Eagles have the 6th pick in the NFL Draft and are projected to pick Jaylen Waddle from Alabama.

The Sports Betting Business in Philadelphia is getting a new member. Live Casino is joining the action with Fan Duel as the sports platform provider. Since most of the wagers from competitors are coming from the online betting via mobile and tablet apps, it will be interesting to see who does the best job regionally marketing their retail location. Competition bring creativity. The existing Casino Operators include Rivers Casino Philadelphia, Parx Casino, Valley Forge Resort and Casino and Harrah Philadelphia.

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The Metro Report: Sports Betting in Philly , New York and Washington DC

The Eagles turn the page from Doug Pedersen and fired him on Monday. It was rumored that he would return along with GM Howie Roseman. Only Roseman remains with the team. Owner Jeff Lurie gave the reason as a difference in philosophy on what was needed to fix things. The approach is Lurie is looking at appears to be more long term. The person mentioned as a candidate to replace Pedersen is Todd Bowles. defensive coordinator  for the Tampa  Bay Buccaneers.

Washington Football lost to the Bucs in the opening round  of the NFL Wild Card Playoffs. The score was 31-23.The quarterback, Taylor Heinicke  played an excellent game. Coach Rivera indicated that settling the QB position would be an off season priority. Alex Smith wanted to wait a couple week before he decides his future about continuing to play. He is under contract for next season.

The Jets have two picks in the 1st round of the NFL Draft 2021. They have the 2nd, 23rd  and 34 picks. This bodes well for the Jets because this draft is deep in talent. If they plan to move on from Sam Darnold then a QB is the way to go with the second pick. If they still want to commit to Darnold, then DeVonta Smith ,Heisman Trophy receiver from Alabama would up grade the offense immediately.

The Sixers broke a 3 game losing streak last night by defeating the Heat 137-134. Joel Embiid played a monster game. He led the team with 45 points and 16 rebounds. The Sixers are still without the services of Tobias Harris, Shake Milton and Seth Curry due to COVID protocol. Sixers play the Heat again on Thursday. Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic did not play last night. Butler has been ruled out for Thursday game. 

The Brooklyn Nets will be without Kyrie Irving for the balance of this week. He has cited personal reasons for his absence. The team is not commenting on the situation. There is a video that appears to show Irving not adhering to COVID protocols .Watch the video. If a player is found to miss games due to a violation , each game missed can result in a reduction of salary for each game missed. Nets are 6-6 and 7th in the conference standing. 

The Nets continued to stay in the headlines with the acquisition of James Harden from the Houston Rockets.It involved a 4 team trade to complete the deal. While the loss of Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince will decrease the depth of the team, having the multiple time scoring champion will make up for the point production. The Nets included 4 first round picks so they are all in.

The Wizards continue to be exciting but unable to win or defend. They have a record of 3-8.  Bradley Beal is the leading scorer. Russell Westbrook is continuing to get triple double numbers every night. Thomas Bryant suffer a torn ACL and is out for the season. Westbrook is out for a week due to a left quad injury.

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The Metro Report: Sports Betting in Philly, Washington DC & New York

Since the advent of Sports Betting the coverage of the New York, Washington DC and Philadelphia markets are essential to prognosticators. So I will expand with my Gaming Guy News minutes into the 3 top cities on the East Coast.

The Washington Football Team are in the NFL Playoffs after clinching the NFC East. They defeated the Eagles 20-14. They will play against Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday. The Bucs are favored by 8 and the total is set at 45.

The Eagles have reportedly retained Head Coach Doug Pedersen to return next season. Jim Schwartz is stepping down as Defensive Coordinator. Carson Wentz has allegedly stated the relationship between Pedersen and him is "fractured". My  assumption is that Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts will have a QB competition in training camp in 2021 to determine the starter. Not sure who would be the favorite after watching Hurts for 4 games. 

The Giants are eliminated from the playoffs even though they handle the Cowboys 23-19. Daniel Jones was not overly impress. There should be some thought about if he is the QB of the future. They will be better next season because of the return of Saquon Barkley. The Giants questioned the way the Eagles played the 4th quarter of a winnable game. Had the Eagles won, the Giants would have been the NFC East Champions.

The Sixers are one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now. They are 6-1 . They have won 2 games on the road so far. In past season the road was their Achilles heel. Tobias Harris is playing aggressive by driving to the basket and hitting from 3 point range. He was named Player of the Week in the Eastern Conference. Ben Simmons had his 1st triple double of the season against the Hornets. I am looking forward to Thursday game against the Nets. I will preview that game in Bettors Insider.

The Knicks are playing better than anticipated. Their record is 4-3. Julius  Randle continues to lead the team in 3 offensive categories. He is averaging  22.1 points, 11.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists. They play the Jazz on the road tonight. The line is Knicks +6 and the over/under is 214.5.

The Wizards are a disappointing 2-5. Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook are putting up exceptional numbers but the team is bottom five in the league defensively. They hope to get revenge on the Sixers tonight for the loss they received opening night. The line is for tonight's game is Washington +6.5 and 231. In their last game, they defeated the Nets 123-122.  

In Sports Betting and Sports Business: New York can anticipate a move to legalize sports betting via mobile by the 3rd quarter of the year. That would conveniently coincide with the start of the NFL season 2021. The majority of the bets on professional sport are place on football so it would make perfect sense to have a platform in place to capitalize on the upcoming season.  This would be a boom to the brick and mortar casino properties that have online platforms in other jurisdictions. Rush Street Schenectady would increase their market share by having the expertise of Rush Street Interactive promoting them throughout the entire state of New York. Rush Street Interactive / RSI rang the opening bell yesterday at the New York Stock Exchange.

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Sports Business and Wagering This Week

This will keep you current with the industry. These post will include trends about the sports betting market and information about what state is planning to offer it next. This will be a winning situation for a sophisticated operator and his constituents. 

The Washington Wizards and NBC Sports Washington started a gambling focused telecast that gives the viewer the ability to make a bet in real time while watching the game at home. "If this performs well, we would seriously contemplate a larger rollout of similarly programmed events and potentially tie to an actual betting experience," said  Zach Leonsis, senior vice president for the ownership group, Monumental Sports and Entertainment.

In New Jersey, approximately 75% of the sports betting wagers were made online during the month of December. That percentage has increased every month since the start of legal wagering and the introduction of  mobile apps. This trend should not be overlooked. The numbers reported by New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement give the first sign of  market saturation. There is a correlation between a decrease in the amount wagered in New Jersey in December and the opening of sportsbooks in Pennsylvania.

In Pennsylvania, Harrah's Philadelphia and Valley Forge Resort will enter the sports betting retail market in 2019. The date has not been determined for either at the time of this post.

All of the home teams won during the Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. Three of the 4 covered the point spread. While the Eagles were eliminated they went down fighting and covered as a 7 point underdog.

Each of the increasing popular Sports Betting 101 Series will be part of this so you can have each post together. Since we add a new post to that series every week you will always see the previous 3 with this feature. We encourage you to follow and stay relevant.  

The Las Vegas Experience

Straight Bets and Parlays

Point Spread and the Money Line

                                                      

                                                             Enjoy the NFL games!

If any organization wants to innovate your Sports Betting operation from your competitors then watch what we post in 2019.

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