New twists engage West Virginia sports betting fans.
While gamblers wait to find out which online casino will launch first, there is plenty to keep their attention at one of the three online sportsbooks in WV. The week entails the debut of UFC Fight Island in Dubai, which gained substantial betting attention and a new main event for Saturday.
Betting options also include an added feature at West Virginia racetracks, a seventh day of horse racing, on Wednesdays.
The lineup also features NASCAR, which has burned betting rubber in its headlong sprint following a May 17 return. The next edition, the Quaker State 400, occurs Sunday, at 2:30 p.m. on FS1.
Let’s take a look at what to bet on at WV sports betting apps this weekend.
UFC betting: Masvidal steps up
The UFC took a hit and kept on coming.
Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will face third-ranked Jorge Masvidal Saturday night.
The bout unfolded when Gilbert Burns, Usman’s original opponent, tested positive for the coronavirus. The new opponent changed the odds slightly, but not much.
DraftKings Sportsbook WV moved Usman from -235 to -265 and made Masvidal + 210.
Here is the card with odds as of mid-week.
UFC betting odds for the Main Card at DraftKings:
- Kamaru Usman -265 vs Jorge Masvidal +210, welterweight title
- Alexander Volkanovski -230 vs Max Holloway + 285, featherweight title bout
- Petr Yan -239 vs Jose Aldo + 200, bantamweight title bout
- Rose Namajunas -200 vs Jessica Andrade +162
- Amanda Ribas -825 vs Paige VanZant +525
FanDuel Sportsbook UFC betting odds for Top Preliminary Card bouts:
- Volkan Oezdemir -160 vs Jiri Prochazka +130
- Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos -110 vs Muslim Salikhov -110
- Makwan Amirkhani – 182 vs Dan Henry +148
- Leonardo Santos – 205 vs Roman Bogatov +166
UFC betting overview
Usman is No. 6 on the UFC’s top 10 pound-for-pound list. Masvidal stopped Nate Diaz in his last fight last November.
Usman has been a distance fighter throughout his UFC career. Eight of his 10 matches have gone all the way.
He’s undefeated in the UFC and won his welterweight championship with a decision over Tyron Woodley in March 2019. Last December, he notched a fifth-round TKO over Colby Covington in his first defense.
The Draft Kings board indicates this won’t go the distance, putting a stoppage at -148.
So, who do you like?
Masvidal is + 265 to win by KO or TKO, while Usman is +175.
Intangible: One of Masvidal’s head coaches, Mike Brown, tested positive for the virus. At mid-week, it was revealed Brown would not accompany Masvidal, who said he was “devastated”.
Volkanovski is favored in the rematch of their 2019 encounter, in which he lifted Holloway’s featherweight title. Volkanovski, No. 7, and Holloway, No. 10, provide a rare matchup of UFC’s top 10 pound-for-pound performers.
Volkanovski changed the course of the first Holloway fight with 75 leg strikes, forcing Holloway to go southpaw as he favored one side. In the end, it was simply Volkanovski’s night. He is 8-0 on the UFC circuit since entering in 2016 and may simply have the stylistic goods on Holloway. The board says so. We’ll find out.
A Volkanovski decision is -106, while Holloway is + 275. If you like Holloway to turn the tables, that’s a nice price. It’s a nice bet on either fighter. The first fight went the distance.
Another rematch involves Namajunas -200 against Andrade, despite Andrade defeating her last year. These are the top two strawweight division contenders.
The Andrade-Namajunas fight should generate passionate betting interest from both sides. Check the prop board both for DraftKings and FanDuel. They have excellent selections, promos and odds boosts.
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WV horse betting: Another day, another dollar
The West Virginia sports betting crowd now has something that is rare in the United States.
WV horse racing runs live every night in the state between Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races and Mountaineer Park.
Mountaineer has added Wednesdays to its schedule. It now runs four nights per week, Sunday through Wednesday. Charles Town takes over from Thursday to Sunday, all at 7 p.m.
Both tracks have exhibited good-sized fields, produced betting pools exceeding $1 million most nights and delivered enough longshots to keep bettors intrigued.
History is showing that the best payouts are happening in fields without a clear favorite. Or in races in which the favorite runs out of the money.
That means exacta, trifecta and superfecta pools have been getting a good-priced horse in the top spot. There aren’t many 3-5 shots coming in. That would sharply hinder payouts.
On Saturday at Charles Town, the first race featured 26-1 winner Natural Attraction.
Hopping Henry, at 9-2, completed the exacta. Youthinkthatsfunny, 5-1, ran third. Tappin for Glory, 9-2, finished fourth and completed a $1 superfecta of $1,170.
That means it also paid $117 for a 10-cent superfecta. If you like a longshot, you can gain a nice return on the 10-cent superfecta for a small wager.
In Friday’s sixth race, the $1 superfecta paid a handsome $4,457. It featured 9-2 shot Take Time as the winner. Occasionally Classy was second at 10-1, Bat for One ran third at 10-1 and Bop Marley was fourth at 7-2.
Mountaineer’s seventh race Sunday featured an extraordinary $1 superfecta payout of $2,148 in an eight-horse field. Siccar crossed the line first at 10-1. Lucky at Justice, 9-2, Miss Heart, 20-1 and Opeongo, 7-2, completed the first four.
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NASCAR: Harvick and friends
Kevin Harvick is on a dream roll.
He is on the best run of any NASCAR performer and he is the +550 favorite at DraftKings for the Quaker State 400.
Harvick has been on fire. He nearly won back-to-back races in Pocono two weeks back and then won the Hand Sanitizer 400 last week. That gives him two firsts and one second in three weeks. No wonder he’s the chalk.
Others gaining betting respect this week include:
- Martin Truex Jr. +600
- Kyle Busch +650
- Brad Keselowski +700
- Chase Elliott +750
The strangest number up there is Kyle Busch. He continues gaining betting respect, and play, despite having little to show since NASCAR returned in mid-May. The numbers recognize him as the defending NASCAR Cup Series champ, but this year is starting to belong to others.
Not surprisingly, Harvick surged in the driver standings. Here is the updated list:
- Harvick (637)
- Chase Elliott (552)
- Brad Keselowski (549)
- Ryan Blaney (534)
- Denny Hamlin (528)
Here are the manufacturers’ standings:
- Ford (599)
- Toyota (558)
- Chevrolet (537)
Some associations: Harvick, Keselowski and Blaney drive for Ford. Elliott is the top driver for Chevrolet. Hamlin is Toyota’s top threat.
More props will go up closer to the competition. It’s always fun to bet by top manufacturers or groups of four. It creates a separate race for the bettors, giving them something to cheer for besides their main picks.
This type of prop is deeply embedded in gambling psychology. It’s the same as seeking games with wild cards or cover bets.
There is a lot to choose from this weekend, WV bettors. Good luck.
