Vegas Play of the Day: Argentina vs. Netherlands

By Taylor Bern

Wednesday, July 9, 2014 | 7:50 a.m.

Here’s the latest installment of the Play of the Day, which uses odds from the South Point. Our three sports writers started with a $10,000 bankroll — fictional, of course.

Argentina against Netherlands draw (90 minutes plus injury time): $300 to win $660

Yesterday’s bet, Germany to defeat Brazil, went extraordinarily well. That was probably the most bizarre World Cup game any of us will ever see, so here’s hoping for a little more normalcy (and competitiveness today).

For the Germany-Brazil game, I used odds that didn’t include a draw so that I would just get my money back if the teams ended regulation tied. Today I want more bang for my buck, and while I strongly considered Argentina at plus-145, I decided to go with a draw.

Because this is a knockout game, the result obviously can’t end tied, so the bet is that the teams will be tied at the end of regulation and injury time. While I like Argentina — my pre-tournament pick to win the World Cup — to advance, I feel like we’ve seen too many great, close games for both of the semifinals to end in regulation.

I’m not sure if yesterday’s game will impact either of today’s teams, but if it does, it will likely make them play a little more conservatively. Toss in the stomach flu that’s been passed amongst Netherlands players and I think we could see a lot of defensive possessions.

For the sake of being official, I’ll go with a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation and a 2-1 Argentina victory in extra time.

Standings: Bern (34-24-1, $12,319), Keefer (29-34, $8,926), Brewer (23-36-3, $2,385)

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.