Betting for the Super Bowl is unlike any other sporting event. People used to come from far and wide to Las Vegas to get their big wagers down, but with sports betting now legal in over 30 U.S. states, there is a much wider distribution of money. Bettors can wager large sums of money from the comfort of their homes.
Still, there is no place like Vegas for the Big Game. A few long-time bookmakers shared their favorite Super Bowl betting stories from behind the counter with VSiN.
Super Bowl XLIX: Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots (-1)
Johnny Avello, DraftKings Sportsbook Director
I’m at Wynn at the time, and a guy walks up to counter a few days before the game. He says that he wants to bet $1 million. I tell him that’s fine, we’ll take a million. He had the money at the cage, I think he had brought it in via cashier's check. So he has a bunch of $25,000 chips, brings in 40 of them and bets the Patriots to cover against the Seahawks.
At that time while we’re counting the money, I'm curious so I ask him why wants to bet all that money on New England. He tells me, “I had a dream last night that the Patriots were going to win the game.” That’s it. That was the whole reasoning behind his bet. Well, it ended being his dream and my nightmare.
Super Bowl XXXVIII: New England Patriots (-7) vs. Carolina Panthers
Jay Kornegay, Vice President of Race and Sports at Westgate SuperBook
A guy from Los Angeles comes into the book before this Super Bowl and he had $10,000 to bet. He didn’t know what to bet., but he knew he wanted to bet $10,000. He’s looking at all the odds, looking up and down the board and he decides he wants to bet something that’s a longshot. He ends up betting on the Panthers to score exactly 29 points. I think he chickened out and just bet $5,000 on it, but the odds were like 30-1 or something. And, of course the fricking Panthers score exactly 29 points.
Super Bowl XXXIV: St. Louis Rams (-7) vs Tennessee Titans
Chris Andrews, South Point Sportsbook Director
The year the Rams beat the Titans was a bad one. Early in the year, we had the Rams at like 300-1 to win the Super Bowl. They were horrible the year before. Trent Green is a fine QB, so they get lower, lower. Green gets hurt on the eve of the opener. Dick Vermeil, who I always thought was a great coach, but he’s Mr. Optimistic. He says, “No, we’re going to be fine with Kurt Warner and we’re going to play great football.”