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 — 58-0. Yeah, FIFTY-EIGHT & OH!!! Sounds like one of those scamdicappers trying to lure people into throwing their credit card on the table. However, this 58-0 is LEGIT. That is the record for the sportsbooks here in Las Vegas/Nevada for consecutive winning months. The sportsbooks won $20 million and change last month, which was a nice little trickle, but if you’re interested, it was PENNIES that ruled the day. Penny slots accounted for $287 million won in May.
World Cup pick
Huge weekend coming up in the World Cup and of course, Ecks & Bacon is ready to dance. Looking at the first game up tomorrow, don’t have a strong opinion, but still gonna roll with France over Argentina. Neither team has really impressed me. Seems that Les Bleus have a deeper team, but La Albiceleste have Messi. It’s a wash, and the wallet stays closed.
However, we do have a STRONG opinion in the second game, and it’s Uruguay over Portugal. Kinda looking at this game the way I looked at the NBA Finals. The Cavaliers had LeBron, Portugal has Ronaldo. The Cavs played basically one-on-five against the Warriors, and we all know that result. Uruguay might not be Golden State, but the overall team is WAY better than the Ronaldos. And the reason is DEFENSE, BABY. La Celeste bring BAGELS to the table every game. Uruguay has NOT allowed a goal in its last SIX games, outscoring the opposition 11-0. Gimme Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani for the W.
Wimbledon pick
Gotta get out the tennis racket too and sprinkle a few bucks around Wimbledon. On the men’s side, gonna drop some love on the GREAT Roger Federer at +200. It’s not much of a price, but Fed is a MONSTER on grass. Also try a little taste of Novak Djokovic at +500 and my long shot would be Denis Shapovalov at +5000. On the women’s side, do not think that Serena is ready yet to go full tilt boogie for two weeks, so gonna back Petra Kvitova at +500, Garbine Muguruza at +800, Elina Svitolina at +2000, and my long shot, Daria Kasatkina, at +4000.
MLB pick
On the baseball board, we’re gonna go swimming at Chase Field in Phoenix tonight and take the D-backs over the Giants. Arizona’s Patrick Corbin has been tough on the entire National League, and San Francisco is no exception. Corbin has faced the Giants three times, won twice, and allowed only four earned runs over 21 innings which translates to a 1.71 ERA. And in the only start at home in Phoenix, Corbin fed San Fran a complete-game bagel (1-0), allowing only ONE hit. Albert Suarez has not done much for the Giants the last two months, winning only once in nine starts, so we’re gonna throw down some love on the D-backs.
And PLZ hit me on Twitter over the weekend, @vegasvigorish, ’cause ya never know when we’ll find another gem at the World Cup in Russia or on the baseball diamond.
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 winners, and detested by others, when he picks the occasional loser. If you wanna piece of Eck, hit his email ... ben@americasline.com.
