Despite Lawsuit, Raiders Odds Push Towards Return to Oakland Next Year

Posted on: December 18, 2018, 10:17h. 

Last updated on: December 18, 2018, 10:17h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
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The Raiders are being sued by Oakland for their planned 2020 relocation to Las Vegas, but the NFL franchise might still play in the Bay Area California town next year.

Oakland Raiders odds Las Vegas stadium
Raiders owner Mark Davis is considering an expedited move out of Oakland. (Image: Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY Sports)

Online sportsbook MyBookie is offering odds on where the Raiders will play next year following Oakland’s lawsuit against the team and the NFL on grounds that its transfer to Sin City violates antitrust laws.

The offshore casino site has the team’s current home — the Oakland Coliseum — as the favorite at +150, or implied odds of 40 percent. A $100 wager and the Raiders staying put for another year would net $150.

The former home of the San Diego Chargers is next at +200. Levi Stadium, where the San Francisco 49ers play, is next at +350. San Antonio’s Alamodome (+450) and UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium (+600) in Las Vegas round out the top five.

Estadio Azteca in Mexico City is a long shot at +2000. A $100 bet and the Raiders moving south of the border for a year would net the fortunate gambler $2,000.

Dismal Year

At 3-11, the Raiders are tied for the worst record in the NFL. First-year coach Jon Gruden was supposed to lead Oakland back into the playoffs, but everything has gone wrong for the team.

Gruden, who led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl win in 2003 — ironically over the Oakland Raiders — says he’s convinced he has his franchise quarterback in Derek Carr.

Raiders owner Mark Davis, however, wasn’t convinced he had a long-term general manager in Reggie McKenzie, who was fired this week. Davis hired McKenzie after he took control of the team following his father Al’s death in 2011.

Monday night’s game could be the last for the Raiders at the Oakland Coliseum, and that has Gruden emotional.

“It’s dirt, grass, it’s got tradition,” Gruden told ESPN. “It’s where some of the best games in the history of football have been played. It’s where some of the best players in the history of the world have played football games.”

Stadium Odds Could Change

Davis called the lawsuit filed by Oakland against his team “meritless and malicious.” In November, the owner confirmed his wishes to remain in the California city until the Las Vegas stadium is ready for the 2020 season. But the lawsuit is further straining his relationship with Oakland.

“Why would I give them three, four, $5 million in rent that they’re going to turn around and use to sue me?” Davis asked recently. “But at the same time, if they’ll have us, I can’t turn on the fans. I can’t do it. And this is terrible negotiating I’m doing now. I’m going to get killed. But that’s just the way I am. But if in fact it does get ugly, and can’t be bridged, we do have options.”

The lawsuit is indeed turning the negotiating ugly, and that might shorten the odds on the Raiders playing in a stadium not named the Coliseum in 2019.