Posted on: January 9, 2025, 06:47h.
Last updated on: January 9, 2025, 07:27h.
Johnny Avello, the popular Las Vegas Strip bookmaker, says the trader desk he oversees for DraftKings has grown from six people to 75, around the world, all since he joined the company in 2018. Avello built the trader team there, and now says because the traders are so good at what they do, he doesn’t need to be as hands-on as years past.
NFL Betting Grows
Betting on the hugely popular NFL is a big reason for that growth. One of the things Avello references, something the league has done well lately, comes down to scheduling. With games Thursday through Monday, even a couple of Christmas Day games this year, the NFL never loses momentum through the regular season, and that’s a boon for sportsbooks.
“And then you throw in a couple of college games as well, on a Tuesday,” said Avello, from his Las Vegas DraftKings’ office. “It’s a fabulous time for football enthusiasts.”
Wild Card Weekend
Starting this Saturday, there’s the crescendo that is NFL Wild Card Weekend, six games over three days, plenty of betting storylines.
And there’s no better person than Avello, DraftKings’ Director of Race & Sportsbook Operations, to weigh in on this weekend’s games:
Chargers Vs. Texans, Saturday 4:30 p.m. EST, CBS
- Spread: Chargers -3 (-105), Texans +3 (-115)
- Moneyline: Chargers -162, Texans +136
- Over/Under: 41.5
“There’s not a whole lot of line movement in these games, especially on the side. There is some total movement, but not spread movement. Now, when I say that, some of the games have moved, but they’ve come back to the initial number that we opened up with. Chargers, being one of those. We opened this game 3. We did go down to 2.5 at some point yesterday, for a short period of time. Now we’re back to 3.
This is mostly Chargers money. If we’re somewhat lopsided on any game – and there’s a long way to go, these games could even change by the time we get to game time. But the Chargers do have quite a bit of money on them for this one.
“I think it’s that whole Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert connection. I think that bettors really like that. And especially Harbaugh, coming to the team and taking them to this spot in his first year (as coach). And Herbert’s a good quality quarterback.
“The Texans coming into the year were looked at as a Super Bowl contender, and they still are. They could still get there, but things haven’t panned out that well for them. C.J. Stroud struggled a little bit lately, and I think the bettors have picked up on that, and that’s why that they’re on the Chargers. Now, with that being said, this could be a close one. But the bettors see this as the Chargers coming in with more momentum and playing better football at this point.”
Steelers Vs. Ravens, Saturday 8 p.m. EST, Amazon Prime
- Spread: Steelers +9.5 (-108), Ravens -9.5 (-112)
- Moneyline: Steelers +350, Ravens -455
- Over/Under: 43.5
“Lamar Jackson has numbers to be an MVP in any year. I mean, he’s just off the charts numbers. For this particular game, these two teams are so familiar with each other. They played twice already this year. Baltimore was a 3 point favorite at Pittsburgh. They lose the game, a low scoring game, 18-16. Then they’re at home, a little bit later in the year, we opened them up at 4, and the game got bet to 7. They actually buried the Steelers in that second game.
“Now, when you look at these two teams, they are traditionally close games. They’ve always been. It doesn’t matter the makeup of the roster. They hate each other, that’s really what it comes down to. We opened at 9.5, and we’re still at 9.5. The totals came down a bit from 45.5 to 43.5.
We’re going to be absolutely loaded up on Baltimore money line and Baltimore money line parlays. Now you’re laying a stiff price. You’re laying five to one, but that’s the way the bettors like to play these big favorites, try to leverage the payoff a little better. So this game will probably be parlayed heavily with the Buffalo game, then some of that will certainly going to the Eagles game and then some other games also.”
Broncos Vs. Bills, Sunday 1 p.m. EST, CBS
- Spread: Broncos +8.5 (-112), Bills -8.5 (-108)
- Moneyline: Broncos +340, Bills -440
- Over/Under: 47.5
“The Bills have home field advantage for a couple of games, and their home field advantage is one of the stronger ones in the NFL. It’s probably worth two and a half to three points. The weather, the crowd, they just play well there. It’s a difficult place to go play.
Josh Allen has no problem with wind up there. As a matter of fact, he’d rather it be windy. Other quarterbacks would struggle. Then you have Bo Nix coming in, who’s had a great season. But this is his first time, in playoff territory, and you know the Bills. The one thing I don’t like about the Bills – their pass defense is very suspect. Their secondary doesn’t seem to have the coverage, and they let teams score a lot of points on them. But that’s their game. Can we score more points than the other opponent?
“We have them as the favorite. And most people expect them to win this game. But are they going to cover that 8.5? The bettors will probably lay the money line. Allen’s a gamer. His (injury problem) is his left hand. I don’t have any concerns about his health. He’s one of those guys who goes out and just wants to win, does anything he can to win.”
Packers Vs. Eagles, Sunday 4:30 p.m. EST, FOX
- Spread: Packers +4.5 (-105), Eagles -4.5 (-115)
- Moneyline: Packers +190, Eagles -230
- Over/Under: 45.5
“You got to talk about the health of Jordan Love (Packers QB) and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. He’s not out of concussion protocol yet, although he might be out by this morning. But we anticipated that he was going to play. And this number that we opened up, 4.5, was with him playing, and that number has held up. I’m 99% sure he’ll play. If he doesn’t, I’ll be shocked, and this number will fall like a rock.
But the Packers issue is they didn’t play that well at the end of the year. Love maybe not be 100%. Christian Watson, to me, is a big deal on this team. To have him on the field, they seem to always play much better. The Eagles are just a complete team all around. I mean, running back, Saquon Barkley, just a tremendous year. He had a week off last week, so he’s certainly ready to go. Good wide receivers, probably the best defense of all the teams in the playoffs this year.
“So, I see them as a real deal, and probably can go far. But the 4.5, I don’t know if the 4.5 is going to hold up. And in my opinion, I think this game probably goes to 5, maybe even 5.5 by the time we get close to game time. It’s just settled right now and hasn’t moved much. The totals come down a little bit from 46.5 to 45.5. But, you know, we’ll see where the line goes. I don’t see it coming down, but I could see it going up a tick as we get more clarity on the health of the quarterbacks.”
Commanders Vs. Buccaneers, Sunday 8 p.m. EST, NBC
- Spread: Commanders +3 (-105), Buccaneers -3 (-115)
- Moneyline: Commanders +145, Buccaneers -175
- Over/Under: 50.5
“If I was betting the game, I probably wouldn’t lay the 3. I’d probably be looking at the dog. I love Baker Mayfield’s style of play. This guy is probably the hardest working quarterback in the NFL. He gives it all every game. He must be totally drained, because he does everything his power to try to win football games. The team is kind of one dimensional. You’ve got Mike Evans, that’s his go-to guy, and Bucky Irving, a good running back. They’ve got some good pieces, but I see them as an above-average team. I don’t see them as much more than that.
And, do you go with a rookie here on the Commanders’ side, at quarterback (Jayden Daniels)? I think the end of the season wasn’t as good as the beginning of the season (for the Commanders). It wasn’t bad. He’s capable of running and throwing the ball downfield. He can do a lot of good things. But again, he’s in a playoff atmosphere. Baker Mayfield has been in his atmosphere before, whereas Daniels has not.
“But I certainly think the 3 points is exactly where the spread should be. Anything higher than that, which we were at the opener, 3.5, that was taken early. People saw that as value. So it’s been sitting at 3 now, and not a lot of movement there. It will probably fall down to 2.5.”
Vikings Vs. Rams, Monday 8 p.m. EST, ESPN/ABC (game has been moved to Arizona due to the wildfires)
- Spread: Vikings -1.5 (-108), Rams +1.5 (-112)
- Moneyline: Vikings -118, Rams -102
- Over/Under: 47.5
“We opened this game Vikings 2.5. We’re down to 1.5. We’ve been as low as 1. As a matter of fact, we went even to the Rams 1 at one point, and now we’re back to Vikings again, 1.5. This is a good game for the Rams, because it’s a good matchup for them. But the concern with the Vikings coming into this game was that were playing Sunday night (against the Lions). They’re playing for No. 1 seed, which means that they get a bye week. They win the division. Everything was looking positive they could win that game. Well, they lost that game, and now they are a five seed. I don’t think the coach did a good job in that game. They should have kicked field goals when they had the opportunity, instead of playing the Lions game and going for it all the time.
I don’t know if this is on players minds or not, but if Sam Darnold takes this team deeper into the playoffs, he becomes the quarterback, and then maybe they think about trading the rookie when he comes back next year, trying to get some draft picks. So I don’t know if that’s in a player’s mind. I think at hand right now is to go in and try to win this football game.
“But (Darnold) has no proof that he’s excels in these type of games, and last week was part of that, to show that he doesn’t, although I don’t give him the full blame. I think the Vikings are a quality team. I think this is a tough matchup for them, because the Rams have a quarterback that’s won a Super Bowl. They’ve got great receivers.”
Odds: DraftKings
