Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 1/24/2017

by Doc's Sports - 1/24/2017

New England Patriots Running Back Dion Lewis

Super Bowl LI between New England and Atlanta is probably at the top of the list for sports bettors right now, but this week's discussion with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza runs the gambit from his early take on the opening betting lines for the big game to some recent prop bet odds he just covered for Ronda Rousey's immediate future.

Raphael rose through the ranks to become one of the top sports handicappers in the nation during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry. At one point in this career, the former Vegas Sports Informer held the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until his retirement in 2013. These days he continues to reside in Las Vegas as well as in New Orleans running a successful and diverse sports investment service. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: Most of the sportsbooks in Las Vegas have opened New England as a three-point favorite against Atlanta for Super Bowl LI with the total set at 59 points. There is still plenty of time between now and kickoff on Sunday, Feb. 5, so in your professional opinion where do you see both lines moving from here?

RE: The sportsbooks in town would have loved to set the spread as high as six points in New England's favor, but the Falcons' dominating performance in their first two postseason games chased the number down to three. It might move a bit higher if some of the wiseguy money in town goes towards the Patriots, but right now I have the spread sitting at three. The 59-point total line could have been a bit of a reaction to all the points that both of these teams have scored lately since I had it opening at 57. That line might creep up a bit, but I do not see it hitting 60.

Doc's Sports: We all know that you are big on handicapping Super Bowl props in conjunction with the big game. Are there any early prop bet odds for Super Bowl LI that have caught your eye?

RE: Right now the only props that are posted are for all the usual generic categories that are pretty much standard for every Super Bowl. Everyone knows that I like to look for the Super Bowl prop bets that are completely "outside the box", so we will have to revisit this issue next week once all the props are released.

Doc's Sports : The Raiders have officially requested to move from Oakland to Las Vegas; putting the ultimate decision to allow such a move in the hands of the other 31 NFL team owners. Have you seen any prop bet odds posted in conjunction with this request and, if not, what kind of odds would you put on the Raiders' chances of playing in Las Vegas next season?

RE: The main reason why you do not see any prop bet odds posted is that this is widely considered to be a done deal following San Diego's recent decision to relocate to Los Angeles. I guess if I had to put odds on this deal going through they would probably be as high as -800 to -1000.

Doc's Sports : You recently wrote a piece for Doc's covering MyBookie's prop bet odds for Ronda Rousey's immediate future following a second straight loss in her MMA career. As far as what she will do first in 2017, you have her pairing up with The Rock in WrestleMania 33 this April in Orlando. This is definitely a bold play, so how many units would you go with in this bet?

RE: While I would not go too big on this particular play since it is a rather bold play, I still think there is some solid value in these odds from a practical standpoint. The actual bet is for the first thing Rousey does in 2017 and, with this type of entertainment event, preparation time is not really a factor.

Doc's Sports: Since the start of 2017, we have been tapping into Raphael's Betting Radar for one of your weekly top plays on something that is a bit off the grid for the general betting public. Do you have anything that fits the bill coming up this week?

RE : For me, this weekend is all about boxing and MMA fighting at a number of different venues, including right here in Las Vegas with the Carl Frampton vs. Leo Santa Cruz rematch for the WBA Featherweight title. My top pick would probably be Donald Cerrone (-155) over Jorge Masvidal (+135) in this Saturday's UFC Fight Night on FOX.

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 .

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