This is one of the most exciting times of the year at the BetMGM online sportsbook. This week, sports fans get to watch the beginning of the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Final, and the French Open main draw.
Elsewhere in the world of sports, there are 15 MLB series, along with NCAA baseball regionals.
Here are some notable events to consider betting:
Stanley Cup Final
Florida Panthers at Golden Knights, Game 1
Saturday, June 3 | 8 p.m. ET | TNT
The Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers will meet for a fresh-faced Stanley Cup Final, starting this Saturday night. No matter which team wins, someone will be hoisting the Stanley Cup for the very first time. Neither franchise has ever won a Cup before.
Amusingly, both the Panthers and Golden Knights appeared in exactly one Stanley Cup Final early in their history, lost, and haven’t sniffed the Cup since.
For Vegas fans, it hasn’t been a very long wait. The Golden Knights won the Western Conference in their inaugural season in 2018, ultimately losing to the Washington Capitals in an awesome Stanley Cup Final series.
It’s been a much longer wait for Panthers fans. The Florida franchise was birthed as an expansion team in 1993, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996 before being swept by Colorado. This return is 27 years in the making.
Right now, the BetMGM NHL odds price Vegas as a -130 favorite for both Game 1 and the series.
NBA Finals
Miami Heat at Denver Nuggets, Game 2
Sunday, June 4 | 8 p.m. | ABC
Is this year’s NBA Finals a coronation for two-time MVP Nikola Jokic? Or is it spoiled by Jimmy Butler and the party-crashing Heat?
This feels like the Denver Nuggets’ championship to lose, and the NBA odds market agrees. Denver maintained a steady -400 price throughout the week prior to Thursday’s Game 1, which means the Nuggets began the Finals with an implied 80% chance to win the championship.
If they do, that would remove them from the list of NBA teams that have never won a championship.
Following Denver’s 104-93 victory in Game 1, the Nuggets moved down to -700 to win the championship. Miami was +500.
On Friday, Denver was an 8.5-point favorite for Game 2.
Major League Baseball
New York Yankees at Los Angeles Dodgers
Friday, June 2 through Sunday, June 4 | Fox (Saturday) | ESPN (Sunday)
It’s a battle of the payrolls this weekend in Major League Baseball, as the New York Yankees ($277 million) head to the West Coast to face the Los Angeles Dodgers ($223 million). Both franchises rank among the top five most expensive teams in the Majors this year, alongside the Mets, Padres, and Phillies.
The Yankees got off to a slow start this season, closing May with a middling 15-14 record. They’ve even spent time in last place in the loaded AL East.
But the Pinstripes quietly put together an excellent May, surging to a 19-10 record that ranked among the best marks in the league over that time period.
They’ll try to repeat that success in June, and it starts with a three-game series against the Dodgers – another team that dominates the MLB odds market, even as it’s been lagging behind its own lofty standards from recent years.
The Dodgers won 217 regular season games over the last two seasons; this year, they’re on pace for a paltry 97-win season. That would be great for almost any other club, but it’d be the worst season for the Dodgers in five years.