We know the house supposedly always wins, but in sports betting, week to week, it doesn’t always work that way. For Nevada sports books, however, so far the NFL Playoffs have delivered beyond their expectations, with increased betting handles and game results supporting casino profits.
Last Sunday was no exception. The two conference championship games proved very profitable for casino sports books. Westgate LV SuperBook Vice President Jay Kornegay told VegasInsider.com that January has been a phenomenal month.
“It was a great day, we won both games and did well to the futures we posted,”Kornegay said. “It was one of the best NFL days we’ve had outside of a Super Bowl. It continues a great January for us. Today, everything went our way. It was our best-case scenario.”
It’s a far cry from last year, when operators bemoaned taking a beating in the playoffs. Super Bowl LI was especially bad for bookmakers, as gamblers cashed tickets on the favorite, the over, and a variety of lucrative prop bets.
Oddsmakers are cautiously optimistic so far this year that they can set the lines properly to maintain their edge.
New England Comeback Delivers
Attractive lines on Patriots-Jacksonville in the AFC Championship game enticed bettors enough to swing most of the action towards the underdog Jaguars. New England was favored by up to 9½-points, and the line quickly got adjusted after news of an injury to the throwing hand of quarterback Tom Brady. The word gave many Jacksonville fans a little extra hope that the team could roll into Gillette Stadium and pull off the upset.
But history was against them. The last time the Patriots lost a playoff game at home was in 2005. But with a straight up bet on Jacksonville at some places as high as a +300, it was too tempting for many not to take.
It looked like the sports books were going to get hammered early in the game. The Jaguars jumped out to an early lead and entered the fourth quarter ahead, 20-10.
Then Brady worked his magic and led his team back. They ended up winning, 24-20, not covering the spread, and hurting those who thought they would win by double-digits for the fourth consecutive week.
Philly Favorite Underdogs
Philadelphia hosted Minnesota on Sunday, and despite the home-field advantage, it also marked the second consecutive week where the Eagles entered the game as the underdog. The line fluctuated between three and four points, with most of the money placed on the Vikings.
That proved to be a mistake as the Eagles blew out Minnesota, 38-7, easily covering both the spread and the over. Sports books cleaned up on that action as well.
“It couldn’t have been much better,” Atlantis Reno sports book director Marc Nelson told Vegas Insider. “We did get a flood of Eagles money late taking the points and also on the money-line, but we held over 15 percent for the day.”
The line for Super Bowl LII is anywhere from five to six points in New England’s favor, and many of the sports books believe that will stimulate betting on the underdog Eagles. The spread is the largest since 2009. The over/under is 48, and many might take the over since it is in a domed stadium.