Sports betting roundup: Many bettors wagering on the NFL find success again

For the second straight week, many bettors wagering on the NFL found success at the BetMGM sportsbook.

Five teams that brought in 70% or more of the bets covered the spread, including the Philadelphia Eagles (-3 at the New York Giants), who brought in 83% of the bets.

Besides the Eagles, the most popular teams in terms of bets were the Washington Commanders at -9.5 (79%) versus the Carolina Panthers, the Cincinnati Bengals at -5.5 (72%) at the Cleveland Browns, the Detroit Lions at +1.5 (72%) at the Minnesota Vikings and the Kansas City Chiefs at +1.5 (70%) at the San Francisco 49ers. All covered the spread and won outright.

NFL underdogs of 5.5 or more points are 2-7-1 against the spread over the last two weeks, including 1-4 on Sunday.

The biggest college football game on Saturday was Georgia at No. 1 Texas. Texas entered the game as a 4.5-point favorite but lost 30-15. Bettors expected Georgia to pull off the upset. At +160, Georgia took in 75% of the bets and 76% of the money. The Longhorns took in 53% of the bets and 44% of the money against the spread.

The New York Liberty won the WNBA championship by beating the Minnesota Lynx in overtime 67-62 in the deciding game in the best-of-five series. The Liberty did not cover the spread after closing as 5.5-point favorites, taking in 64% of the money.

There was an upset on Sunday Night Football. Pittsburgh beat the New York Jets 35-17 in Russell Wilson’s first start as a member of the Steelers. Pittsburgh closed as a 2.5-point underdog and did not bring in much action. In terms of against-the-spread bets, the Jets took in 57% of the bets and 70% of the money. In terms of moneyline bets, Pittsburgh (+120) attracted only 17% of the money.

Tennessee upset Alabama 24-17 on Saturday. At +125, the Volunteers were the most bet underdog to win in all of college football on Saturday.

On the PGA Tour, J.T. Poston won the Shriners Children’s Open by one shot over Doug Ghim. It was Poston’s third career PGA Tour win. He entered the tournament with +4000 odds to win, and took in only 1.5% of the bets and 0.6% of the handle in pretournament betting.

The World Series will start Friday night in Los Angeles when the Dodgers host the New York Yankees.

As of Monday, the Dodgers are favored at -130, while the Yankees are +110.

In terms of how many games the series will last, six games has the shortest odds at +195, followed by seven games at +200. Five games is +270, while four games is +650.

This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge is hit by a pitch thrown by Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee during the first inning in Game 5 of the baseball AL Championship Series Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani hits RBI-single against the New York Mets during the sixth inning in Game 6 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

J.T. Poston hits off the tee on the 13th hole during the final round of the Shriners Children's Open golf tournament, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) celebrates his touchdown in the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) reacts after scoring against the Minnesota Lynx during the third quarter of Game 5 of the WNBA basketball final series, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) celebrates after a touchdown by Mecole Hardman during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) signals a first down against the Minnesota Vikings during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (5) passes in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz (86) celebrates with teammates after catching a 12-yard touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) avoids a tackle from New York Giants safety Jason Pinnock (27) during the third quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

North Carolina's Biltmore Estate will soon reopen after being forced to close when floodwaters pushed by Hurricane Helene devasted the area.

The popular tourist destination announced over the weekend that they plan to open and “celebrate the joy of the holiday season” on Nov. 2.

“For more than 125 years, Biltmore has been a witness to the resilience of this community,” the Asheville-based estate posted in a statement. “The compassion and resolve of our region have been rising every day from beneath the weight of this storm.”

Here are a few things to know:

On Sept. 27, the remnants of Hurricane Helene destroyed large swaths of the Southeast as flooding overwhelmed communities, swiped out roads and knocked out power for thousands. North Carolina's largest mountain city was left largely isolated as many of the main routes into Asheville were washed away or blocked by mudslides.

Officials have warned that rebuilding after Helene will be lengthy and difficult. Helene first roared ashore in northern Florida on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane and quickly moved through Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee. The storm upended life throughout the Southeast, where to date nearly 250 deaths have been reported in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

Western North Carolina was hit especially hard because that’s where the remnants of Helene encountered the higher elevations and cooler air of the Appalachian Mountains, causing even more rain to fall. Asheville and many surrounding mountain towns were built in valleys, leaving them especially vulnerable to devastating rain and flooding.

It was the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005.

According to the Biltmore Estate, the 8,000-acre property was impacted very little by Hurricane Helene. Along with the Biltmore House, the estate includes a conservatory, winery, gardens and overnight properties, which received varying degrees of minimal or no damage.

Instead, some of the property's more low-lying areas were the most impacted by the storm. Notably, the entrance to the Biltmore Estate experienced flooding and is currently undergoing “extensive repairs.” The estate's website says the recovery effort will result in the removal of weakened poplar trees that lined the entrance gate.

The Biltmore Estate was completed in 1895 during the nation’s Gilded Age. It was anchored by a 250-room French chateau built at the direction of George Vanderbilt and is the largest privately owned home in the United States.

Biltmore draws about 1.4 million visitors on average in a year and employs nearly 2,500 employees — all of whom were accounted for after the storm, according to the estate's website. The estate is one of the largest employers in the Asheville area.

The mansion has rarely closed since opening to the public. When Biltmore laid off most its staff in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the estate said it was first time it was forced to close since World War II.

FILE - Biltmore Estate crews raise a 40-foot-tall Fraser fir tree in the Banquet Hall of the Biltmore House on Friday, Nov. 1, 2013, in Asheville, N.C. The tree, from an Avery County farm, arrived by horse-drawn carriage. (Bill Sanders/The Asheville Citizen-Times via AP)

FILE - The Biltmore House, a 1890s French Renaissance-style, 250-room chateau in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is shown in Asheville, N.C., Dec. 18, 2006. (AP Photo/Alan Marler, File)

FILE - A horse-drawn trailer carries a 34-foot live Fraser fir to the front doors of the Biltmore House in Asheville, N.C Friday, Nov. 2, 2007. (Bill Sanders/The Asheville Citizen-Times via AP)

This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows flood-hit area of Biltmore village, N.C. after Hurricane Helene, on Oct. 7, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)