Who Vegas Wants in the NBA Finals

Vegas would like to see Orlando against Los Angeles, with LA winning. Here's part of an article from covers.com (link to full article below) which talks about where the money is:
Bookmakers from Nevada and online outlets alike are hoping the Magic and Lakers can finish the job. They received a ton of action on the Cavaliers to win the NBA Finals and the Eastern Conference Finals, even at prices anywhere from -700 to -900. The action remained heavy on Cleveland even after the price dropped to the -250 to -275 range.

On the flip side, many bets are on the books for the Nuggets, who have been generating heavy action ever since their dominant first-round disposal of the New Orleans Hornets.

"People have been coming out of the woodwork to bet on the Nuggets," said senior oddsmaker Shane Catford of BetCRIS.com. "They have been betting them to win the series, win the NBA Finals... everything. We need the Lakers to survive and we need the Nuggets out."

Jay Kornegay, executive director of the race and sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton, noted that his book is similarly rooting for an NBA Finals triumph from the Lakers, who have been favored to win the title since long before the season's opening tip-off.

"We really don't look good on the future book," he said. "We have liability on the Cavaliers, and won't win much on any of the other finalists. Our best scenario would be for the Lakers to come through and take the crown."

For entertainment purposes, we asked Kornegay to come up with futures prices for every potential NBA Finals matchup. He agreed, and came up with the following hypothetical numbers:

Cleveland vs. Los Angeles – Cleveland -140, Los Angeles +120

Cleveland vs. Denver – Cleveland -250, Denver +220

Los Angeles vs. Orlando – Los Angeles -280, Orlando +250

Denver vs. Orlando – Denver -190, Orlando +170
Link to full article: Future shop: Oddsmakers estimate NBA Finals series prices

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