Oddsmakers waste no time making Flyers underdogs and Golden Knights

The ink was barely dry on the press release announcing the Flyers were opening the season in Vegas when the oddsmakers put a line on the game. Not surprisingly, the Flyboys are decided underdogs.

Westgate SuperBook has opened the favored Golden Knights with a money line of -180, which puts the Flyers at +160.

Money lines are based on $100 wagers. Bettors who want the Knights to win the game must put up $180 in order to win $100. Those who want the Flyers must lay $100 and would win $160 if they win the game. Those bets may be made in increments. A $50 bet on the Flyers would fetch $80. A $25 play would win $40, and so on.

>>READ MORE: Who's up for a road trip?

Another option is the 1.5 goal line, which is a popular play among seasoned gamblers. This also is a money line. Bettors could take Vegas -1.5 goals and get a juicy money line of +170. The hook is that they would have to win by more than one goal. Conversely, the Flyers at +1.5 goals would require bettors to lay $190 to win $100.

If the above paragraph makes zero sense, then stick with the straight money line — or the over/under which is six. Bettors who think that the teams will combine to score less than six goals must lay $125 to win $100. Those who think they will combine to score more than six will get paid $105 for every $100.

New Jersey and Delaware have opened sports betting. Pennsylvania is in limbo. Who knows? By Oct. 4, which is when the Flyers visit Vegas, maybe the Keystone State will have its act together.

Last year, when practically none of us knew any better, some oddsmakers opened Vegas at 500-1 to win the Stanley Cup.

The Golden Knights were an expansion team and first-year franchises generally get treated like bugs on a windshield by the rest of the league — no matter the sport.

But then Vegas started hot and kept it going. They won the division. Then they won three playoff rounds. Then they won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals and oddsmakers were sweating more than a distance runner in 100-degree heat. Sportsbooks all across Vegas were looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.

Even as the odds dropped, bettors were still jumping on the Golden Knights. But the house always wins and the Capitals rebounded to win the series.

This year, the Knights are at 10-1 to win the Stanley Cup next season according to Westgate. The Flyers are at 30-1 to end a championship drought which is at 43 years and counting.