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Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza


by Doc's Sports - 1/23/2018

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan

The matchup for Super Bowl LII has been set and, even though the biggest single-day betting event of the year is still two weeks away, now is the time to put your betting strategy in place with the help of Doc's Sports. To get things started in the right direction, we will be checking in with one of our expert sports handicappers, Raphael Esparza , for his early thoughts on this game from a betting standpoint.

Once referred to as the Vegas Sports Informer during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry, Raphael cut his teeth in the sports betting capital of the world to become one of the best handicappers in the game. He decided to retire from the prestigious position as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria in 2013 to focus all of his efforts on making money for a number of avid sports bettors. While splitting his time between his home base in Las Vegas and the Big Easy in New Orleans, Raphael continues to run 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: Both underdogs covered in last week's NFL conference championships with Philadelphia making a statement both straight up and against the spread. How did the sportsbooks in town fare with these two results?

RE: The books came out on top in both games, but the gains were not as high as you would expect. There was still quite a bit of money bet on Jacksonville, especially from the sharps. The NFC title game going OVER really helped the books with quite a bit of action the other way in what most bettors thought would be a low-scoring affair.

Doc's Sports: Most books have the current spread for the Super Bowl favoring New England by 5.5 points with the total set at 48 points. Where do you see each of these betting lines moving over the first week of action coming in on this game?

RE: Normally, the early money for the Super Bowl comes in on the underdog. This could move the line to five points for the books still offering 5.5. The total line could attract some early action on the OVER since everyone loves to see a high-scoring Super Bowl, but it should not move any higher than a half point.

Doc's Sports: We know that you will be cooking up some unique prop bet picks for Super Bowl LII as we get closer to kickoff. Are there any early prop bet odds posted for this game that have already caught your eye?

RE: I came across some interesting props for Justin Timberlake and the halftime show, but the best early prop on the board is Rob Gronkowski's playing status coming off a concussion in the AFC Championship. The Patriots' All-Pro tight end is listed at -160 to play, but right now there is some value at +130 that he will have to sit things out given how little we actually know about this injury.

Doc's Sports : Turning to the NHL, we have been closely following the success of the expansion Vegas Golden Knights all season long. With the league's annual All-Star break planned for this weekend, how much value is in this team's updated NHL futures odds to win the Western Conference and possibly even this season's Stanley Cup title?

RE: The value is definitely there in the current betting odds since this is still an expansion team, but I would be a bit leery about going big on either bet given the completely different nature of playoff hockey in comparison to the regular season. This is where the Golden Knights' lack of experience as a team could derail a deep run into the postseason.

Doc's Sports: Earlier this week you released some prop bet picks for this Sunday's Grammy Awards for Doc's as part of your ongoing pop culture handicapping efforts. Can you give us an early insider's pick that might be at the top of your list?

RE : My strongest play among all the picks would be Kendrick Lamar winning best rap album for 'DAMN' at -400. His only real competition in this category is Jay Z for '4:44' at +650, but there is now way that I see an upset taking place.

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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