LONGTIME LAS VEGAS RESIDENT
Jay Kornegay has mixed feelings about the unlikely run of the expansion Golden Knights. As a fan of the team, he couldn’t be happier. “I go to every game, and I have eight or nine Tshirts already,” he said. “I’m all-in for this team. I’m rooting my butt off.”
But as vice-president of race and sports operations at the spacious Westgate Las Vegas Superbook, a favorite of both high and low rollers, he’s in a bit of a pickle. There’s been so much action on the Knights that the Westgate stands to lose a sizeable sum if the first-year NHL team goes on to claim the Stanley Cup, not an unrealistic possibility even as the 2017-18 season enters the stretch run. “The big picture for us at the Westgate is not very good,” Kornegay said. “We posted futures on the Knights during last year’s Cup, offering 200-to-1…(and) they got as high as 500-to-1.”
Now, they’re co-favorites at a mere 6-to-1, sharing top billing with the high-flying Tampa Bay Lightning. In an attempt to cover its potential losses, the Westgate has come up with a new proposition, allowing bettors to wager against the Knights capping off a dream season. It’s nowhere near as attractive as the initial offerings, as you have to put up $11 to win just one dollar more, which Vegas lists as -1100.
While hockey has long been an afterthought in Vegas betting shops, with football the kingpin, that’s all changing with the arrival of the Golden Knights. The handle for their games can rival NFL games, with virtually all of the action on the home team. “They’re betting six figures on every game, and that’s just at my place,” Kornegay said. “That’s about 10 times what we get on any other team. The public loves them now, so we lose a lot of games.”