Yankees fans aren’t the only people excited about the Bronx Bombers’ return to the playoffs.
The Las Vegas sportsbooks are also pleased to see the Yankees back in the postseason after their one-year hiatus. Because the baseball playoffs compete with football — by far the nation’s biggest betting sport — having the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers involved increases interest in them, and with that, increases the amount of money wagered.
“Baseball is a little odd,” said Jay Kornegay, executive director of the Las Vegas Hilton Sports Book. It’s not really a great betting sport . . . so any time we can get one or two of those popular teams playing, it will obviously create a better atmosphere in the book, as opposed to, say, the Rockies and Tigers playing.”
Another thing that helps, especially with the Division Series, is the schedule. With two or three games being played today and tomorrow, having people in the book all day can only help the books.
“For us, that fills a void,” John Avello, director of race and sports operations for the Wynn Las Vegas Casino Resort, said. “Outside of a soccer game or a horse race, there isn’t much going on. It fills the book up with people who want an exciting playoff game.”
Along with creating a good atmosphere, it also will help that the Yankees won’t cost the books a lot of money. Because they have been one of the favorites to win the World Series all season long, they haven’t put the sportsbooks in a worrisome situation.
“Going into the playoffs, the Yankees in the futures book is OK for me, so I don’t have to make any drastic adjustments,” Avello said. “I just have to put up a fair price and see what happens.”
That wasn’t the case last season, when the Rays’ trip to the World Series was a costly one.
“Whenever you get a team that you’re giving up 200- or 100-to-1 odds, it doesn’t take much to create liability,” Kornegay said. “When a team comes from nowhere like that, it really costs us.”
In the amount of money wagered, baseball pales in comparison to what takes place in football. Kornegay couldn’t even compare a game in the baseball playoffs with an exciting college football game.
“Even the best-case scenario, a Yankees-Dodgers World Series game, might get the same amount of action as an average college football game. I’m not talking LSU-Florida, either. I’m talking Michigan State-Iowa. That’s what translates at the betting window.”
tbontemps@nypost.com