There are a few good things about living in the great Garden State of New Jersey. For one, we have the New Jersey Devils. We also have Bruce Springsteen (who you guys were so quick to turn against), pork roll/taylor ham (once again, not trying to start any fights here, I’m still recovering from the Springsteen backlash), and legalized gambling. Yes, New Jersey is the only place in the world where you can flip off a motorist on the Garden State Parkway and lose money by betting on the New York Giants within seconds of each other.
As a frequent gambler, my ex-girlfriend and therapist calls me an “addict.” But I prefer the more inclusive term “gambling enthusiast.” We even tried to start a hockey sports-betting series on Devils Army Blog, but about only 30 people read it. To the 30 loyal readers of “Bardown Bets,” you da real MVP. And once again, we’re sorry for all the money you lost.
Everyone’s got to have a hobby. Some people have gardening and tennis, I have blackjack and craps. The gambler in me always tries to keep tabs on the latest NHL odds. With the NHL season on the horizon, Draft Kings tweeted out their best upcoming odds for who will lift the Stanley Cup this year. Fast forward to this morning, when I got a surprising bit of news from Draft Kings. They announced via Twitter, 29% of all Stanley Cup championship bets have been placed on the New Jersey Devils.
What does this mean exactly? It doesn’t mean the stars aligned for the Devils to win the cup. It doesn’t mean some far-off conference of hockey gurus decided the Devils are the best bet for playoff champion. Does it mean you should sell your house and bet all the money you earned on Andy Greene lifting the cup come June? Nope, It simply means more bets were placed on the Devils to win it all than any other team.
The bunches of people who placed their bets could range from well-versed hockey individuals to people who have never watched a game in their life, but that’s how gambling odds work. Hold off on your parade plans for now. At the very least, it means many more people have confidence in this team than we could have ever thought. If you’re feeling risky, maybe place a few bets on the Devils this season. But as they say in the movie “Taken,” “good luck.”