Bettors set records

January 31, 2005 —

As of press time, the New England Patriots are seven point favorites to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX this Sunday. And that might be the only number a majority of viewers will be caring about.

Sports gambling itself is one of the most profitable businesses to be in. With the explosion of Internet gambling along with the increasing popularity of sports, more Americans than ever are putting down a wager on anything from who will win the Super Bowl to who's going to win next year's World Series. With millions of Americans betting on the final score, how many points the two teams will score collectively or the last digit of each team's final score, the Super Bowl will be about more than the Patriots looking for "dynasty" status.

As of press time, the "line" for this year's big game was seven points. This seven-point line has all sorts of different meanings within the context of the game. First, though, it is important to understand what exactly a seven-point difference is, and how gamblers can place their bet on either side of the fence.

Even if an interested party thought the Patriots were going to defeat the Eagles, it would not be unusual for him or her to place their bet on the Eagles "covering the spread." All the Eagles would have to do, as of press time, is lose to the Patriots by six or less points for the Eagles to "cover the spread." Covering the spread is most of the time all bettors care about.

In Super Bowl XXXVIII a year ago, the Patriots entered the game as seven-point favorite over the Carolina Panthers with a total of 38, and it looked like they would be well on their way to covering the spread with a with a 21-10 lead in the early fourth quarter. But millions of bettors lost out as the underdog Panthers came roaring back and lost on a last minute field goal, 32-29. In the matter of one quarter, millions of dollars changed hands, proving once again how lucrative the business is.

Bets are being placed on countless stats and quirks, including the first half and second half point spread, total points and more traditional odds-based bets such as the winner of each quarter, first scoring play (Patriots touchdown or field goal, Eagles touchdown or field goal, or safety), the first touchdown scorer, and the first and last team to score.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, an unexpected record $81.2 million was bet on last year's Super Bowl, and Nevada's 152 sports books (who bettors place their bets through) won a record $12.4 million. The previous record was the $77.2 million bet in 1998, when the Denver Broncos beat the Green Bay Packers. The 15.3 percent win percentage for the books was the second-highest margin in the last ten years.

Nevada sports books have won nine consecutive Super Bowls, with their last loss in 1995, when the San Francisco 49ers routed the San Diego Chargers 49-26, causing a $396,674 loss.

The record was unexpected, as the New England-Carolina matchup was not referred to as a "marquee" matchup. Usually contests between extremely popular teams or those from the major markets garner the most attention, making last year's record a shock to gambling experts. The record 37 fourth quarter points also left the experts scratching their heads, as what looked to be a certain New England cover or accurate total points prediction quickly became an afterthought.

"In the last five minutes, most books went from winning to losing to disaster to winning," said Art Manteris, Nevada's "Station Casinos" sports book director, to the Review-Journal. "The books can't complain, that's for sure."

With more uncertainty with various injuries and inexperience in this year's Super Bowl, expect more Americans to be clinching their fists on that potential final game-winning drive.