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Super Bowl Betting Recap

Written by Jimmy Boyd

super-bowl-betting The Pittsburgh Steelers conquered the toughest schedule in the NFL this season and wound up as Super Bowl champs. It was not easy, but Big Ben and company got the job done in thrilling fashion with a two-minute-drill resulting in an amazing connection between Roethliberger and Santonio Holmes in the back of the end zone. That little game winning toss gave Steeler nation its record sixth Super Bowl title and saved Vegas from back-to-back losing Super Bowls.

Besides that memorable play being significant for the Steelers, it was also a very significant play for Vegas sportsbooks as it was the difference in tens of millions of dollars changing hands. That catch giving Pittsburgh a 27-23 win ensured that Las Vegas would not suffer back-to-back losing Super Bowls for the first time in two decades. It would have meant a major hit as the public cashed in big with the New York Giants on the money line as a huge underdog last year.

Our sources indicate that around 60 percent of all Super Bowl bets were made on the Arizona Cardinals and three of every five were money line wager on the Cardinals which would have a hefty payout of about 2-to-1. With a 4-point loss, Arizona covered the 7-point spread, but Vegas would have received a double whammy with money line wagers on Arizona hitting as well.

Here’s how close it was: the Cardinals were up by three with less than a minute remaining and Vegas was those few seconds away from enduring consecutive Super Bowl upsets by underdogs of a touchdown or more.

I already eluded to Vegas taking a hit last year and a hit it was, but if you ask me they can afford a few more as last year’s loss was just its second overall losing Super Bowl in the last 18 years. Why did Vegas come out $2.5 million down you ask? Because so many bettors took the G-Men on the money line with over a 4-to-1 payout.

Sources have indicated that this year’s total Las Vegas betting numbers are around the same as the $92 million wagered last year. Those numbers appear pretty impressive despite our current economic state. This year’s totals also correspond to the $10 billion wagered across the globe on the big game in 2008.

While myself and my clients made out like bandits with our wager on the Arizona Cardinals on the point spread this year, Vegas as a whole has been scoring big Super Bowl Sunday. Vegas has turned a Super Bowl profit in 17 of the last 19 years. The $2.5 million hit that the books took in 2008 was the betting public’s biggest score while Vegas came away with its biggest payday in 2005 when it stole $15.4 million when Philadelphia covered against New England. According to sources, a fairly conservative estimate of Super Bowl winnings by sportsbooks worldwide would be more than $12 billion the last 18 years.

Because the Super Bowl is the biggest betting event of the year, squares often like to wager on the total and props to get as much action on the game as possible. Vegas was sitting pretty with most of the public money on the over, but Joe public got paid when 16 points were scored in the final three minutes of the game.

And a Super Bowl betting recap would not be complete without mentioning the bullet Vegas dodged when Pittsburgh won the game straight up. A preseason futures wager on the Cards to win the Super Bowl would have paid at 35-to-1. Steelers futures players collected their 10-to-1 pay checks.

Make sure you do your Super Bowl betting with Jimmy Boyd again next year to conquer the Super Bowl odds. Jimmy Boyd’s Super Bowl picks remain Vegas’ worst nightmare.

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