Sunday was the type of day in the NFL bettors dream of, and though it doesn’t happen very often, gamblers were able to clean up and give the sportsbooks a rare loss. It was the second consecutive week facilities took a hit, but this week was much worse. Several lines had moved during the week, but in many cases they didn’t adjust enough.
Nevada industry sources told ESPN.com they estimated the state’s sportsbooks lost in the range of $7 to $10 million overall on Sunday. Some of the teams that bettors backed heavy were Minnesota, Kansas City, and Chicago.
Boyd Gaming sportsbook director Bob Scucci told ESPN.com that it was definitely a tough day for his operation.
“The public just nailed it,” Scucci said. “They had the big favorites – Bears, Chiefs, Panthers and Vikings – as well as the short ‘dogs, Texans and Steelers. And a lot of the overs.”
Early Games Omen for Day
It began with two morning games that were unusually crushing for oddsmakers. The first was Kansas City at Cleveland. The Chiefs were 8-point picks and the public loaded up against the Browns. William Hill reported on Twitter that 88 percent of the money wagered at their places on the game was on Kansas City. The Chiefs covered easily, 37-21.
The second game was Minnesota hosting the Lions. The Vikings were 5-point picks and 87 percent of the money at William Hill that was bet on the game went to Minnesota. They too easily covered, 24-9.
The Panthers and Steelers also had big swings their way, and both covered. Pittsburgh was actually a 1.5-point underdog and won outright, beating Baltimore, 23-16.
Jay Rood, vice president of the MGM’s Race and Sportsbook summed up the mood to ESPN.com., calling it one of the Top 10 worst days for his place.
“We were pretty much done at that point,” MGM vice president of race and sports Jay Rood said. “Disaster.”
Afternoon Contests No Better
The beating continued into the afternoon games. The Saints were a 2-point underdog and won outright, 45-35, giving the Los Angeles Rams their first defeat of the season.
The night game had most of the money on the favored New England Patriots at home against Green Bay, and they did not disappoint bettors. They opened as a 7-point pick, but were quickly bet down to 5.5. The Patriots cruised to a 31-17 victory.
The lone remaining game of NFL Week 9 is Tennessee on the road against Dallas. The Cowboys are 4-point picks, and Jay Kornegay, vice president of race and sports at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, wryly noted that the slump may continue.
“We took a big punch today,” Kornegay said. “[It] could snowball into Monday. Good thing is we’ll be open on Tuesday.”
Most operators had a gallows humor about the day. Pat Morrow, head oddsmaker at Bovada, took the famous quote, “Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?” and applied it to the day.
“Yesterday was the single largest losing day in Bovada’s history. But otherwise everything went well,” Morrow wrote on Twitter.
