Usually the opening lines for the upcoming weekend's NFL games can be seen by attending the Stardust "lottery" at 5:30 p.m. Sundays, when the first odds are posted in Las Vegas. But the opening week of the NFL season is different, because point spreads have been available down the Strip at the Imperial Palace since April, so those are the true openers this week.
In the 16 games on the pro schedule, the point spreads in five of them are exactly the same as they were back in April (Panthers -4 vs. Jaguars, Broncos -6 vs. Bengals, Lions -4 vs. Cardinals, 49ers -6 1/2 vs. Bears, and Eagles -3 vs. Buccaneers on Monday night) and four have moved by only a half-point. Of those, two attracted money on the favorites (Chiefs bet up from -4 to -4 1/2 vs. Chargers, and Seahawks from -2 1/2 to -3 vs. Saints) and two on the underdogs (Vikings bet from +6 to +5 1/2 vs. Packers, and Ravens bet from +6 to +5 1/2 vs. Steelers).
Two games have seen a change of favorites because of injuries to marquee quarterbacks. Back in April, the Imperial Palace opened the Jets as a 2-point road favorite in Thursday night's opener vs. the Redskins. It had been bet to pick-'em last month, and then Chad Pennington's injury prompted the IP to move the line to Redskins -3, which is where it stood Monday morning after having been bet up to -3 1/2 and back down again. The Falcons opened as a 2 1/2-point favorite over the Cowboys, but Michael Vick's injury caused the line to move to pick-'em. The line has since been bet up to Cowboys -1 at the IP, and it is at -2 at most other books around town.
The biggest point spread of the opening week is also the one that has moved the most. The Dolphins opened as 10-point favorites over the Texans, but that number has been steadily bet up to at least -13 1/2 around Vegas, and it moved to -14 at the Imperial Palace on Sunday.
The other NFL moves are the Giants from -2 down to pick-'em vs. the Rams, the Bills -3 down to -1 vs. the Patriots, the Browns -2 1/2 down to -1 vs. the Colts, and the Titans from -1 up to -3 vs. the Raiders in the Sunday night prime-time game.
http://www.drf.com/news/article/49427.html
In the 16 games on the pro schedule, the point spreads in five of them are exactly the same as they were back in April (Panthers -4 vs. Jaguars, Broncos -6 vs. Bengals, Lions -4 vs. Cardinals, 49ers -6 1/2 vs. Bears, and Eagles -3 vs. Buccaneers on Monday night) and four have moved by only a half-point. Of those, two attracted money on the favorites (Chiefs bet up from -4 to -4 1/2 vs. Chargers, and Seahawks from -2 1/2 to -3 vs. Saints) and two on the underdogs (Vikings bet from +6 to +5 1/2 vs. Packers, and Ravens bet from +6 to +5 1/2 vs. Steelers).
Two games have seen a change of favorites because of injuries to marquee quarterbacks. Back in April, the Imperial Palace opened the Jets as a 2-point road favorite in Thursday night's opener vs. the Redskins. It had been bet to pick-'em last month, and then Chad Pennington's injury prompted the IP to move the line to Redskins -3, which is where it stood Monday morning after having been bet up to -3 1/2 and back down again. The Falcons opened as a 2 1/2-point favorite over the Cowboys, but Michael Vick's injury caused the line to move to pick-'em. The line has since been bet up to Cowboys -1 at the IP, and it is at -2 at most other books around town.
The biggest point spread of the opening week is also the one that has moved the most. The Dolphins opened as 10-point favorites over the Texans, but that number has been steadily bet up to at least -13 1/2 around Vegas, and it moved to -14 at the Imperial Palace on Sunday.
The other NFL moves are the Giants from -2 down to pick-'em vs. the Rams, the Bills -3 down to -1 vs. the Patriots, the Browns -2 1/2 down to -1 vs. the Colts, and the Titans from -1 up to -3 vs. the Raiders in the Sunday night prime-time game.
http://www.drf.com/news/article/49427.html
