Several sportsbooks risk losing more than $ 1 million if San Francisco Giants win World Series

The San Francisco Giants, who had the best record in major tournaments after starting the season with 100-1 long shots to win the World Series, are aiming for another unique distinction: the sportsbook crusher, as multiple operators each risk lose over $ 1 million if they win the championship.

“Honestly, we’re crushed if the Giants win,” MGM chief trading officer Jeff Stoneback told ESPN, explaining the potential net loss, even after factoring in all bets on the other 29 teams.

Although the Giants never faded as they reached 107-55 during the regular season, the bookies have only reduced odds gradually throughout the season as yet. Bettors could still have grabbed them at 10-1 at the end of July.

“We didn’t think they had a real chance of doing it,” SuperBook executive director John Murray told ESPN, adding that they even expected the Arizona Diamondbacks to finish better. . “We consider the [Los Angeles] Dodgers to be the best baseball team. We thought that all season and thought it was just inevitable that they would overtake the Giants. “

San Francisco edged its rivals by one game, taking 40-1 tickets to win the National League West title.

The Giants, however, find themselves once again sacked and in the role of underdog entering the playoffs. The Dodgers are -160 favorites for the best of five NHL division series, even though San Francisco has home court advantage.

“It’s basically a blue collar team. Gabe Kapler has done an absolutely amazing job implementing the entire roster on a daily basis,” longtime Las Vegas handicapper and specialist Dave Cokin told ESPN. baseball. “It was hard to feel because you don’t see teams being run that way. I think it went a long way in preventing meltdowns and maintaining what had to be great team chemistry.”

The Giants led the National League with 241 home runs, but no player hit 30. The team’s balance helped set an MLB record with 17 different players finishing with at least five home runs. Their 18 pinch-stroke home runs also set an MLB record.

At the start of the season, punters posted a total of 74.5 regular season wins. The Giants became only the second team since 1994 to surpass their winning streak of at least 30 games.

“Obviously you have a high odds team like this with a quick start, people jumped on them early on at those high odds and they never left,” Stoneback said.

Familiarity with the Giants’ playoff success – with World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014 – also won over punters.

“It’s the same way we always get UConn and Syracuse futures in college basketball,” Murray said. “People have seen them do it before, so they think they can do it again. We’ve laughed at it a bit for the past six or seven years. This year it definitely caught our attention. will say the same. “

When this financial exposure reached a certain probability for sports betting, uncomfortable conversations were necessary.

“I got a phone call with something like, ‘How did we get to this position on the Giants?’ Murray said.

“It’s hard to reduce the liability when one guy has $ 1,000 at 300 to 1 and another guy has $ 1,000 to 200 to 1. And then you just have the volume of tickets because it’s such a team. popular.”

The potential hit has a silver lining. Sports betting is systematically equipped to absorb large losses during the football season, given the large handful of bets in college and professional football. In fact, this October has five Saturdays and five Sundays, so most sportsbook predicts this month will have the biggest handful of 2021.

If the Giants reach the World Series, the bookies can massage the betting odds and mitigate some risk. They experienced a similar situation in 2017 when hometown and the Vegas Golden Knights reached the Stanley Cup Final in their first season in the NHL.