Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 4/28/2015

by Doc's Sports - 4/28/2015

Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers.

We are coming up on a big weekend in sports betting, and Doc's Sports has you covered with selection packages for all the action. For the past 44 years we have been the leader in the sports betting industry behind a team of expert handicappers that include some of the "best of the best" in their field.

A big part of that winning team for the last eight years has been Raphael Esparza, who first built a loyal following in his sports investment business during a long and successful career with some of the biggest sportsbooks in Las Vegas. The former Vegas Sports Informer once held the prestigious position of Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until his retirement from the industry in 2013.

Raphael remains hard at work building a vast network of Las Vegas insiders that include some of the town's biggest and most influential personalities in the sports betting game. These professionals know this industry inside and out, and he has used this information to create a true "insider's edge" for all of his selections. Savvy bettors that have used his selection service in the past understand the value this edge can provide, and the proof is in his winning record over the years.

His handicapping service continues to offer selection packages for all the major sports, but he loves to mix things up with picks for sports such as the WNBA, horse racing, boxing, professional tennis and soccer leagues all around the globe. One week it might be pro wrestling and the next it could be prop bet picks in the world of entertainment. If a sportsbook somewhere around the globe posts odds for an event, there is a good chance that Raphael will be handicapping the outcome.

Doc's and Raphael continue an ongoing weekly Q&A that is geared towards a deeper look into the Las Vegas betting scene as well as covering some of the hottest trending sports betting topics of the day. When looking for the ultimate sports betting source, we have found that there is no one better than a true insider in the undisputed sports gambling capital of the world. The following is this week's conversation.

Doc's Sports: In one of the biggest sports betting weekends in quite some time, the biggest event in Las Vegas is Saturday night's Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. 12-round bout. It appears that the general betting public is all over Pacquiao in this fight, but the sharp money has gone towards Mayweather. What is your take on the overall betting action in town leading into this epic fight?

RE: I see this same pattern of betting continuing right up until the fight itself with much of the heavy money on Mayweather being bet in Las Vegas itself. This should work to have a bigger impact on the moneyline in town as opposed to the betting action at the offshore sportsbooks. The amazing thing that I am hearing is that the total action in Las Vegas could approach Super Bowl numbers.

Doc's Sports: We have already talked about American Pharoah and Dortmund as being the top two favorites to win Saturday's Kentucky Derby, but if you had to work a third horse into the mix, which one of the other contenders would you go with?

RE: The only other horse that could possibly make some noise in my book is Carpe Diem. Both Frosted and International Star also caught my eye earlier in the year, but there is a pretty wide gap between these two favorites and the rest of the field. One of my horse racing insiders compared American Pharoah to Big Brown given just how dominating this three-year old has been.

Doc's Sports : The NBA Playoffs opening round best-of-seven showdown between the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers is tied at 2-2 heading into Tuesday night's Game 5. We know that you took the Clippers in a series odds bet, so do you remain confident that you will be cashing in on that wager?

RE: The Clippers should actually be up 3-1 in this series, which could actually work against them over the next two or three games. I am still backing my series play on the Clippers to win. They do not have a particularly strong bench, but they are getting some solid minutes from players such as Austin Rivers and Glenn Davis, which has been huge.

Doc's Sports: The opening round of the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs is pretty much in the books with the exception of Wednesday's Game 7 showdown between Detroit and Tampa Bay. The Lightning are heavy favorites at home to advance to the next round, but do the Red Wings have any shot at pulling off the upset?

RE: Anything can happen in a Game 7 in the NHL, and Detroit does have history on its side as a storied franchise in this league. I am kind of shocked that Tampa Bay is such a heavy home favorite in this game, but I definitely would not bet against this team after the Lightning's stellar play in Game 6 to keep this series alive.

Doc's Sports : We would both agree that the hype surrounding this year's NFL Draft has been a bit over the top, but can you give us one prop bet prediction for this Thursday night's first round from your home town of Chicago?

RE: In all honesty, I pay little attention to this event as a handicapper and even less as a fan. If I were to play some props for Thursday night, I would probably go with the "under" 1.5 on running backs taken in the first round as one of my top plays.

Click here to visit Raphael Esparza's Insider's Page at Doc's Sports for more information on his amazingly-profitable sports handicapping picks. Also, get $60 worth of Esparza's member's picks absolutely free - no obligation, no sales people - you don't even have to enter credit card information. You can use this $60 credit for any sport Esparza handicaps. Click here for $60 worth of free picks from Raphael Esparza .

Pick:	CHICAGO BEARS +3
Start:	November 24, 2024 @ 1:00 PM
Expert:	Doc's Sports

Analysis:

Free Play from Doc’s Sports. Take #256 Chicago Bears +3 over Minnesota Vikings (1p.m., Sunday, November 24 FOX) We used the Bears as a free play winner last Sunday and easily covered the spread and should have been an underdog outright winner. Now we will ride them for a second straight week against another NFC North rival, the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are 8-2 on the season, yet are only around a field goal favorite. I still do not trust Sam Donald to win consistently over the course of a 17 game regular season. Minnesota is not as good as their 8-2 record would indicate and playing outdoors in Chicago on Sunday will cause issues for them on both sides of the ball. Chicago has been hit or miss this season, but they will be up to play another divisional rival and we expect them to take this down to the wire as well. Do not miss out on Doc’s Sports Weekend Card featuring top plays in college and NFL football. Read More Read Less

Most Recent Weekly Sports Betting and Handicapping