Cubs'
appeal could help set World Series wagering record
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[October 25, 2016]
By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) - The Chicago Cubs and
Cleveland Indians own Major League Baseball's longest active dry
spells and their intriguing championship clash has set off a World
Series betting frenzy in Las Vegas unlike any seen before.
The Cubs, whose last World Series appearance came in 1945, are
seeking their first MLB crown since 1908 while the Indians, who last
appeared in the Fall Classic in 1997, haven't won it all since 1948.
Nevada does not track World Series betting but a number of
sportsbooks on the Las Vegas Strip expect wagers to exceed the
unofficial record set in 2004 when the Boston Red Sox snapped their
86-year championship drought.
"Because both of these teams haven't been there in such a long time
it's capturing non-baseball fans' attention as well," Jay Kornegay,
vice president race and sport operations Westgate Las Vegas
SuperBook, told Reuters on Monday.
"This is probably going to be the most popular betting World Series
that we've seen in recent memory ... based on what we've seen so far
I'm pretty sure the wagering will surpass what we saw in 2004."
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The two teams, who open the best-of-seven World Series in Cleveland
on Tuesday, are both carrying generations-long anticipation into the
championship.
The Cubs are favorites to snap 108 years of misery, a run that
includes the "Curse of the Billy Goat" that dates back to the 1945
World Series when a local bar owner supposedly placed a hex on the
club for booting his foul-smelling pet goat out of Wrigley Field.
Many fans blamed that so-called "curse" with an incident in 2003
when Cubs fan Steve Bartman, with his team ahead 3-0 and five outs
from a World Series berth, reached for and deflected a foul ball
that a Chicago outfielder appeared ready to catch. The Cubs went on
to lose 8-3 and lost the series the next night.
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![](../images/102516pics/sports61.jpg)
Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester gets beer poured on his head in the
clubhouse after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in game six of the
2016 NLCS playoff baseball series at Wrigley Field. Mandatory
Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
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MGM Resorts International, which operates 10 sports book on the Las
Vegas Strip, feels the Cubs' heart-wrenching history will help World
Series-related betting reach levels usually reserved for National
Football League games.
"The whole Cubs history is playing right into it," Jay Rood, vice
president of the race and sports operations at MGM Resorts, told
Reuters. "People that aren't traditional baseball people are going
to be tuning in just because some of the storylines that are going
to come up.
"It's going to have little more personality than a normal World
Series will."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Steve Keating)
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