Vegas veteran Benjamin Eckstein, author of America’s Line, brings three decades of experience to make weekly picks in his “Ecks & Bacon” column.
LAS VEGAS — March Madness. No, we’re NOT talking about the actual games, but rather what you’ll need to bring if you’re coming to watch in Vegas.
You can grab a seat in the Sportsbook Palace sportsbook and watch the games for a day, but you’ll have to slice a large chunk of cash from your bank account, because the price will run from $500 to $1,000 PER DAY. After airfare and hotel charges, you might be looking at OVER 6,000 bones if you’re staying all four days. WITHOUT FOOD!!! So, as a public courtesy, I’m offering a decent-size flat-screen TV on my patio, where you’ll be able to watch the games.
You will also have access to play my PRIVATE country club golf course, Yomba South. The course is set up on the patio, which is all CEMENT, and you’ll have to tee off from the BBQ grill, one of the lounge chairs and a side table. However, we can tell you that the superintendent (me) has promised that the greens will roll true, because it’s ALL CEMENT!
It’s BYOB (bottle) and BYOF (food), because keeping the course well-groomed leaves me no time to cook. Have not settled on a price yet, but it will be WWWAAAYYY less than any of the sportsbooks on the Strip. Taking reservations now via email, ben@americasline.com.
NHL Pick
Made a few bucks on the NHL ice with the Devils a few days ago, betting the OVER/UNDER total vs the Canucks. The total number of goals was listed at 6 in that game and the final was New Jersey 7-2. Then the Devils just had another OVER on Tuesday, losing to the Blue Jackets 4-3. That makes a total of 70 goals their last eight times out, and doing a little long division, that works out to 8.75 goals per game. All OVER the OVER tonight at MSG when the Devils visit the Rangers!!!
Premier League Bet
Early morning action, REALLY early, over in England and we’re looking at Leicester City over Leeds United. Leicester, pronounced Lester, comes in off a solid 2-0 road win at Burnley, and getting back leading scorer Jamie Vardy was crucial. The Foxes are not gonna make any noise in the top four, but Leeds is making some noise at the bottom of the table. The Whites have been PATHETIC the last four times out, losing ALL four and getting outscored 17-2. Yeah, SEVENTEEN to TWO! The price is reasonable, around -125, so we’re gonna be SLY like a fox and grab Lester for the money!
College Basketball Pick
Bobby Hurley, baabbbeee! Made a nice score with Arizona State on the Thursday night college hoop card, and going right back to the Sun Devils again tomorrow. Why? They’re CRUSHING IT. The Devils have won six of the last seven, with the only loss coming AT a very good UCLA team.
ASU has also covered six of the last seven and has been EXCEPTIONAL the last three times at home in Tempe. They blew away a pretty solid Oregon team 81-57, then followed it up with a 73-53 breeze against Oregon State. And just PUMMELED California 71-44 at Desert Financial Arena. That’s an average win of 23-plus points per game, MORE than enough to cover a 4/5/6 point spread. Gimme Hurley, gimme the Devils, and gimme a large handful of chips!
And if you want some more Sportsbooks over the weekend, PLZ hit me on Instagram. I will be doing quick 15/30 second picks at www.instagram.com/vegasvigorish!
Benjamin Eckstein is a nationally syndicated sportswriter/oddsmaker. His column, America’s Line, with the Ecks & Bacon appetizer, has run in the New York Daily News and over 100 other papers since 1988. You can follow him online at www.americasline.com. He is beloved by most, when he picks Sportsbooks, and detested by others, when he picks the occasional loser. If you wanna piece of Eck, hit his Email...ben@americasline.com.
