The 2011 Travers Stakes will be held on August 27th and will host a number of Triple Crown contenders. (AP Images)

With the Triple Crown season at an end it might appear that most of the high points of the elite racing season are over. However as Bodog Beat racing expert Steve Davidowitz pointed out there is any number of exciting graded races ongoing. In addition, there are at least two more marquee events to come this season beginning with the Travers Stakes in August and the Breeders’ Cup in November.

The Travers Stakes is the oldest thoroughbred race in the United States having first been run in 1864. It is currently in its 142nd season having missed a number of races early in the century and during the war years. The Travers is run over 1 ¼ miles at the illustrious Saratoga racetrack in New York State, and is open to three year old colts and geldings.

To see all of the horseracing action visit Bodog’s online Racebook and get your bet in!

The race has tradition and history to rival any of the Triple Crown venues. It has often been called the “Graveyard of Champions” as many Triple Crown winners have suffered defeats on the historic track. The legendary Secretariat lost here to the amusingly named Onion after coming off of his historic Triple Crown run.

This year’s Travers stakes promises to be as compelling and as challenging as the Triple Crown season given that many of the same horses will be competing. While there have been no confirmed entrants to date, one can reasonably expect Ruler On Ice, Shackleford, and Animal Kingdom to turn up along with the likes of Nehro. With that cast, it should promise to be an exciting day of racing!

Slots, Blackjack and more claimed many casino winners.

We had another great weekend for winners but one extra special casino player took the helm with an amazing $15,890 win playing a combination of slot machines including Fruit Frenzy and Caesar’s Empire. Congratulations to Michael G. of MO who claimed the first place spot!

We have plenty more winners to brag about, read below for our full list of winners who scored thousands in cash playing slots and online blackjack over the weekend.

Other big Bodog Casino winners from today included:

Nathan M. of Manchester who won $9,796 playing online blackjack.

Paul H. of FL won $8,585 playing 3-Card.

James R. of ON won $7,965 playing online blackjack.

Jeffrey G. of WV won $6,011 playing Paradise Dreams online slots.

Dan T. of MN won $4,539 playing Enchanted Garden online slots.

It was a fantastic weekend for casino winners; don’t let a moment pass you by without taking your shot at playing in one of the most exciting casinos online. Whatever your game of choice may be, you’ll be sure to find it here at Bodog Casino!

Congratulations to all of our casino winners!

Join us for more and more daily casino action here at Bodog Casino. Find over 70 online casino games that pay out day after day. Make a name for yourself at Bodog Casino today.

Duke’s Kyrie Irving will go No. 1 overall on Thursday. (AP Images)

The NBA Draft is on Thursday night, and you may want to enjoy your fix of pro basketball because we may not see any for a while with the owners expected to lockout the players when the collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of this month. With that said, Bodog has unveiled several NBA Draft props.

It seems we know who will be the No. 1 overall pick by the lottery-winning Cleveland Cavaliers: former Duke point guard Kyrie Irving. The Cavs, according to ESPN, have decided Irving is their guy even though they would also like to add Arizona forward Derrick Williams. But the Cavs took the pulse of Minnesota (No. 2 overall) and Utah (No. 3) and didn’t expect those two teams to pass on Irving before Cleveland picks again at No. 4. The Cavs have tried to acquire Minnesota’s No. 2 pick but with no luck. So it’s expected that the Timberwolves will take Williams there.

After No. 2 is where things should get interesting. Bodog lists four options to go No. 3 to Utah (or any team that might trade into that spot): Kentucky point guard Brandon Knight is the favorite at -300 as Utah does need a point guard after trading Deron Williams to New Jersey. Next is Turkish center Enes Kanter at +250 – Kanter was in play for the No. 1 overall pick by Cleveland and the Cavs probably take him if he slides to No. 4. Of course Kanter was supposed to play for Kentucky this past season but was ruled ineligible. Next up at +850 is Jimmer Fredette. Of course he starred in the state at BYU but is unlikely to get picked this high. And finally there is 2011 Final Four Most Outstanding Player Kemba Walker of Connecticut at +1500.

Bet on the NBA Draft now at Bodog!

Tonight at 9:05pm EDT, Bodog Poker is hosting their last satellite for seats in this year’s World Series of Poker* Main Event and you’ve still got a chance to get in on the action cheap! The $470+30 tournament will give away the final two $12,000 main event prize packages and with our Last Chance qualifiers running right up until the start of the event, you can play in the big game for as little as $25! 

Bodog’ Main Event prize packages are the stuff of legend, giving players complete access to the best experience possible in Las Vegas. In addition to the $10,000 buy-in for the main event and $2,000 in travel and accommodation funds, you’ll get access to Bodog’s amazing parties, swag like you’ve never seen and a Team Bodog handler that’ll make sure every aspect of your visit to the WSOP is as smooth as possible.

Visit our WSOP Online Poker Tournaments page to dive in right now!

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. or its affiliates (collectively Harrah’s). HIE does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with, Bodog Poker or its products, services, promotions or tournaments. Any promotion or tournament on this site will not guarantee your seat or ability to register for any WSOP event or any WSOP affiliated event which is at the sole discretion of Harrah’s.

Play Online Poker at Bodog today!

Win big in Bodog’s guaranteed tournaments! (Bodog Images)

Did you know that Bodog’s online poker room hosts a weekly $100,000 guaranteed tournament on Sundays? And you can get on the action for as little as $1 thanks to our aggressive satellite schedule? These massive tournaments take place at 4pm EST and feature some of the biggest and best action online.

Who won during came out on top in the tournament this past Sunday, June 5th?? Doked took first place this week, earning $25,000. They were followed by fix969 ($15,000) and jjn4207 , who rounded out the top three spots while taking away $9,500. Here’s the rest of the final table results: if_6was9 ($7,000); sparkydog10 ($5,500); Muertas ($4,500); rivermen123 ($3,500); bumpingbooster ($2,200) and digitalballs ($1,700).

In addition to our show-stopping Sunday events, Bodog hosts its regular weekly tournaments to players, and here’s the winners of last week’s events!

• May 30 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: metsfan189 ($3,539.25)
• May 31 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Jamalshabazz ($3,297.25)
• June 1 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: GES44 ($3,206.50)
• June 2 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: tokenjay ($3,282.62)
• June 5 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: calbears ($3,115.75)
• June 5 • $10k Guaranteed Turbo Double-Stack DAK92 ($3,480.00)

Bodog’s guaranteed tournaments mean that there’s always a big cash pool and with more players getting in on the action every week, that means there’s more to be won Play poker online at Bodog and get your share!

Despite a 100-plus fever, Nowtizki still could not be stopped when it counted. (AP Images)

Struggling from the field and nursing a 100-plus fever all evening, Dallas’ Dirk Nowtizki was still clutch in crunch time.

 

Nowtizki finished just 6-19 from the field, but was 9-10 from the line and had 10 of his 21 points in the 4th quarter to help the Mavericks beat the Miami Heat 86-83 and even the best-of-seven series 2-2. His signature play was big layup with 14.4 seconds on the clock to give the Mavs a three-point lead.

But he didn’t do it all alone. After Game 3 Nowitzki hinted that he wanted more help from his teammates (especially guard Jason Terry) and he got it down the stretch.

Terry was 6-15 from the field but was key in a huge 4th-quarter run and made the two free throws after Nowitzki’s big layup to seal the win. Center Tyson Chandler kept the Mavs in it with 13 points and 16 rebounds, giving Dallas nine offensive rebounds in a game reliant on second chance points. Shawn Marion chipped in another solid game with 16 points off 7-12 shooting while Deshaun Stevenson, came off the bench with energy and sank 3-7 from downtown.

“We all saw [Nowitzki] go through walk through, he was barely able to talk, every time he tried to speak he was coughing up, he was weezing,” Chandler said. “So we knew as a supporting cast we really had to step up and get for him tonight.”

The side story in Game 4 will be the play of Miami’s LeBron James. The man who took his talents to South Beach finished with just eight points on 3-11 shooting to go with nine boards and seven assists. That said, the Heat had momentum most of the contest with outstanding defense and a 32 points, six rebound, two steal and two block performance from Dwyane Wade. Forward Chris Bosh had a great game in the loss as well with 24 points and six boards.

However, just like Game 2, James and Wade couldn’t make the 4th-quarter plays to keep the Mavs at bay.

This is just the first playoff game where James scored less than 10 points in his NBA career, and the Heat are 0-7 when he drops less than 15. He’ll need to play better for the Heat to regain the series lead.

Game 5 of these exciting NBA Finals will be at Dallas at 9 p.m. ET

Bet on NBA Finals Odds in the Bodog Sportsbook! Bodog, be a player.