Call it Ocean’s LI.
Thanks to the Patriots’ miracle Super Bowl comeback that resulted not only in them covering the point spread but pushing the total to the “over,” bettors pulled off an unexpected heist against Las Vegas and online sportsbooks.
“For Nevada’s largest sportsbook operator, William Hill, it was a fitting end to a terrible pro football season,” a spokesman told CBS Sports. “The Patriots, trailing 28-9, were available at 16-1 on the LIVE InPlay Money Line, and their comeback was very profitable for the majority of bettors.
“The favorite covered. The total went over. All the popular props cashed.”
According to Bovada.lv sportsbook manager Kevin Bradley, 65 percent of the public money was on the Patriots as three-point underdogs. And 75 percent of bettors took the “over,” which closed at a Super Bowl-record 59¹/₂.
“It was no secret the book needed the Falcons pretty big, and when they were up 21-0, we were already celebrating,” Bradley said. “Our main problem was we took a ton on Pats action in our live betting as well, and we all know how the story ended.”
Results seemed to vary on the prop bets, which according to Bradley account for almost 40 percent of all Super Bowl wagers.
Bradley said Bovada “did very well” on the props (everything from the length of the national anthem to whom the MVP would mention first on the podium). But William Hill got hammered on the props, as 96 percent of bettors correctly predicted there would be a successful two-point conversion, 87 percent cashed when Stephen Gostkowski missed an extra point and most popular MVP pick Tom Brady took that honor.
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