LAS VEGAS (AP) — There is a little more racing drama for Saturday night's Las Vegas Grand Prix than a year ago when Max Verstappen was running away with the Formula 1 championship and most of the news centered on the disruptions leading up to the race.
But with a little more uncertainty about who will become this year's champion — although Verstappen is in excellent shape to win his fourth consecutive title — there is heightened betting interest.
“We have a three-car race this year with Lando Norris' recent improvement in form added to the mix as opposed to only Verstappen and (Charles) Leclerc last year,” said Craig Mucklow, Caesars vice president of trading.
Underscoring the more competitive nature of this year's championship battle, Verstappen isn't favored at BetMGM Sportsbook to win in Las Vegas. He is listed at +450, behind Leclerc at +250 and Norris at +275.
Even so, most of the bets (20.6%) and money (33.7%) at BetMGM have gone to Verstappen. But the professional bettors have looked elsewhere, which is why his odds went up after opening at +200. Leclerc's went the other direction after opening at +350.
But because so much public money has come in on Verstappen, a victory by him would be most costly to the sportsbook.
Lewis Hamilton, who had the fastest lap in each of Thursday night's practices, is +700. A victory by him Saturday night could help make BetMGM a winner as well. Though the pros drove his odds down after opening at +2800, the public money did not follow.
"The book will be cheering for Lewis Hamilton to win as it will be a great result in our backyard of Las Vegas,” BetMGM sports trader Kurt Fritsch said.
Jay Kornegay, Westgate Las Vegas vice president of operations, said he expected the betting action to follow last year's pace.
“Wagering on this year's race has been slow to this point, but we expect it to pick up the last two days,” Kornegay said. “As we saw last year, 80% of the handle came in on race day and (we) foresee the same this year. Since this race seems to be more competitive, we anticipate a bigger handle than we saw last year.”
Verstappen, who won the inaugural race last year on the Strip and sang “Viva Las Vegas” as he crossed the finish line, will clinch the series championship Saturday if he wins. But Norris keeps his dim hopes alive for his first championship if he outscores Vertstappen by at least three points.
Vertstappen has a 62-point lead entering the season's final three races, with only 86 points available.
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Mark Anderson, The Associated Press
