TORONTO — The NHL all-star festivities presented a few surprises for Proline customers.
The league’s best gathered last weekend in Florida but according to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., just 3.7 per cent of bettors selected forward Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders to capture the accuracy shooting competition. Captain Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers was the event favourite with 35 per cent of wagers.
But just one per cent of bettors picked Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov to win the fastest skater competition. Once again, McDavid was the favourite with 61 per cent of wagers.
Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks received 19 per cent of bettors’ support to win the hardest shot competition. Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin was the favourite with 47 per cent of the betting action.
And 65 per cent of bettors correctly picked the Atlantic Division to win the all-star game final, downing the Central Division 7-5.
A whopping 86 per cent of bettors picked the Toronto Raptors to defeat the Houston 117-111 on Friday night. Even more (94 per cent) had the total over of 222.5 points, but just 44 per cent had the Rockets at plus-7.5.
On Sunday, Toronto dispatched the Memphis Grizzlies 106-103, with just 43 per cent of bettors taking the Raptors to win. And while 53 per cent of customers had Toronto at plus-3.5 points, just 12 per cent took the total under of 229.5 points.
One Proline bettor correctly predicted the exact score in two different soccer matches, turning a $7 bet into a $4,669 payout. And a $10 wager on an eight-pick NBA parlay earned one bettor a cool $1,994 payout.
Another Proline bettor turned a $1 wager on a 12-pick NCAA basketball parlay into a $1,491 payout.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2023.
