The 2020 NFL Draft was supposed to take place in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the live event was canceled and rescheduled. The first virtual NFL Draft happened just a few weeks ago – taking the place of the live event. Now the 2022 NFL Draft will take place in Las Vegas.
There’s no need to wait until next year or the year after to wager on the NFL Draft. Thanks to the Westgate you can already wager on which player will be the number one selection of the 2021 NFL Draft by using the SuperBook app.
Live Sports On The Comeback
Sports are slowly coming back online after pausing to help slow the spread of coronavirus around the world. While table tennis offered something new for sports bettors, traditional sports should see a better handle when the resume play.
The UFC is in the middle of three fight cards in one week. The Bundesliga will be the first major professional soccer league to return to play. NASCAR is also days away from drivers starting their engines on their actual cars again. It’s been real, eNASCAR but it’s time to get back to traditional live sports.
Major League Baseball (MLB) owners now have a plan to start the season. Once the deal is negotiated and approved by the players there will be a plan to throw out the first pitch on this year’s MLB season. The NBA and NHL are still considering plans to resume their season. It’s possible either league could finish their season and playoffs in Las Vegas with the MGM Plan revealed a couple of weeks ago.
Football is the king of sports betting in Nevada. According the UNLV Center for Gaming Research, there’s more money wagered on the NFL and college football in Nevada than any other sport. The NFL has a schedule and a variety of permutations should it have to change. College football isn’t quite as ready for a new season.
Colleges have more than just playing the games to consider before starting the football season. In addition to player safety, there are students and faculty that have to be taken into consideration.
While there are plenty of ways to wager on the college football for a season that may or may not happen, it might make more sense to look past the games and awards for the season.
Westgate Offers Odds On 2021 No. 1 NFL Draft Pick
Not everyone could get into wagering on table tennis and eNASCAR so Nevada sportsbooks got creative with futures wagering on traditional sports. The Westgate SuperBook returned to mobile action last week with a variety of new wagering options.
Jay Kornegay, Executive VP of Operations for the Westgate SuperBook tells PlayNevada that the “early response hasn’t disappointed” regarding the return of the SuperBook. One of SuperBook’s unique offerings is futures wagering on which player will be the first selection of the 2021 NFL Draft currently slated to take place in Cleveland, OH.
Trevor Lawrence from Clemson opened as a big favorite with 1/3 odds. That’s a wager to win $1 for every $3 risked. Penei Sewell from Oregon opened as a distant second at 5/1 odds. This is a more traditional wager of risking $1 to win $5.
The only other player with opening odds to be drafted with the first selection in the 2021 NFL Draft is Justin Fields from Ohio State at 7/1. There are plenty of long shots available for anyone looking to make a small wager with the potential for a large return in a year.
Kornegay told PlayNevada that the SuperBook hasn’t had any major changes in the odds for the first player to be selected in the 2021 NFL Draft. That could change with any large wager, so if there’s someone that stands out it might be a good time to place a wager.
Regarding other sports, Kornegay said, “We had typical ‘NFL interest’ on Thursday as we released a slew of seasonal props, and the UFC handle was significantly more than a typical UFC card (outside a McGregor event). We’re looking forward to NASCAR returning, golf, soccer leagues, and more UFC in the near future.”
College Football Betting
Despite the lack of clarity on the upcoming college football season, most Nevada sportsbooks have futures odds on which college football team will win the National Championship game. A few Nevada sportsbooks are offering some unique college football wagers that aren’t available everywhere:
- BetMGM is the only sportsbook app in Nevada with lines for specific games. Totals haven’t been posted yet.
- Circa Sports is the only sportsbook app in Nevada offering “Yes/No” on which player will win the Heisman Trophy. Multiple sportsbooks are offering odds to win the trophy without this option.
- Caesars and William Hill sportsbook apps are offering odds on teams to win their conference championship.
There will likely be an NFL Draft next year regardless if there’s a college football season played. In a perfect world sports bettors will be able to wager on college football like every other year.
