City SC will have to beat odds to win MLS conference title

City SC surprised just about everyone paying attention to MLS last season by becoming the league's first expansion team to win a regular-season conference title, and in so doing handsomely rewarded its backers at the betting windows.

Argosy, the casino in Alton, had City with the longest preseason odds locally to claim the Western crown, and by the club doing so gave those bettors a 50-1 return. (Los Angeles FC was the favorite, at +140, and finished third).

The oddsmakers still aren't sold on City SC heading into its second season, which opens Saturday night, albeit offering much lower prices on the club than they did last year.

Argosy and DraftKings (Casino Queen in East St. Louis) each have City as the fifth favorite, at 10-1, behind LAFC (3-1), Seattle (5-1), Houston (6½-1) and LA Galaxy (7-1). The other legal walk-in sportsbook in the area, FanDuel (horse track in Collinsville), also has City SC fifth — albeit tied with Kansas City at 12-1 odds. It has the same four teams ahead of City as do the other shops, in the same order though some at slightly differing odds.

Despite its storybook run last year, City SC fell flat late in the season then was swept out of the playoffs in the first round. So anyone taking a flyer on the club to win it all — the odds were as high as 160-1, at FanDuel — could toss those tickets in the trash can.

This time, City's title odds are much lower as FanDuel now has the figure at 40-1. DraftKings is at 30-1 after being at 100-1 last year, and Argosy has dropped to 33-1 from 125-1.

Each of those books has Messi-led Inter Miami CF as the favorite to win the league crown, with odds of 2¾-1 at DraftKings and 2½-1 at the other two.

City was a money-printing machine last year for those who bet on them to win on a game-by-game basis, leaving those who wagered $100 on the club to prevail in each of its MLS matches ahead by $1,174. That's via placing the bets using the three-way line, which includes the option of picking the game to end in a tie as well as being able to select either team to win, and using the most favorable line offered among the local betting parlors.

That tidy profit was fueled by the team often prevailing at long odds early in the season, when it became the first expansion team in the league to win its first five outings. For example, DraftKings had the team at +475 to be victorious in its season opener, which it did on the road against Austin. The high-water mark was +$1,470 before the team faltered late in the season and playoffs.

But there are no betting bargains on City to win its opener this year, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at home against Real Salt Lake. The best price among the local houses as of Friday afternoon was +110 at Argosy (a successful $100 risk would return a $110 profit). FanDuel had it at +105 and DraftKings was at even money. The over/under (number of goals the teams combine to score) was 2½ at all three, with the over a significant favorite (ranging from -140 to -150).

Basketball bummers

The woes just keep continuing for the last-place Missouri and St. Louis University men's basketball teams not only on the court but also at the betting windows, according to point spread figures compiled by sports-betting website actionnetwork.com.

• Mizzou is 0-13 in Southeastern Conference play, 8-18 overall and has lost 13 consecutive games. The Tigers also are 7-19 against the spread, including a miserable 3-14 at home.

• SLU is a little better, but that's not saying much. The Billikens are 2-11 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, 9-17 overall and have lost nine of their last 10 contests. They're 10-15 against the spread, including 5-8 at home.

• It also has been a lousy season for a few regional teams the play at the mid-to-low-major levels. Lindenwood is in the Ohio Valley Conference basement (2-13), is 8-20 overall and 8-17 against the spread. Southeast Missouri is second-to-last in the OVC, with a 3-12 record there, and an 8-20 overall ledger. The Redhawks are an unhawkish 6-16-2 vs. the spread.

• Illinois, meanwhile, is the one strong team in the region. The Illini are 10-5 in Big Ten Conference action, 19-7 overall and sport a respectable 15-10-1 mark vs. the spread — including 8-7-1 at home.

Other area teams:

• SIU Carbondale: 18-10 overall, 17-10 vs. spread.

• SIU Edwardsville: 16-12 overall, 11-14 vs. spread.

• Missouri State: 15-13 overall, 14-14 vs. spread.

Super numbers

Illinois Gaming Board officials are not reporting how much was bet on the recent Super Bowl at the state's legal sportsbooks, and of course Missouri has not legalized wagering on athletics so there is nothing for that state's regulators to report.

But in Nevada, the long-established sports betting mecca, a record $185.6 million was wagered on the game, with the handle no doubt helped by the fact the contest was held there (in Las Vegas) for the first time.

That surpassed the previous high of $179.8 million, from two years ago. The Nevada Gaming Control Board said that after winners were paid, the books turned a profit of $6.8 million (a 3.7% return) for Kansas City's scintillating 25-22 overtime victory over San Francisco. That surpassed the 2.8% hold rate for last year's contest, in which KC beat Philadelphia 38-35 but falls well short of the 12.1% profit the books turned in 2020. Kansas City defeated San Francisco 31-20 that time.