Bengals’ upset of Steelers 7-figure swing in favor of books
Another day, another big upset in the NFL.
A day after the Jets beat the Rams 23-20 as 17-point underdogs, the Bengals beat the Steelers 27-17 as 14½-point underdogs on “Monday Night Football.”
Cincinnati’s outright win resulted in a seven-figure swing in favor of Las Vegas sportsbooks, which were overflowing with money on Pittsburgh on straight bets, teasers and money line parlays.
“The game was one of our biggest swings of this entire football season,” Westgate sportsbook director John Murray said. “We had a ton of money line parlays from Saturday and Sunday closing with the Steelers. We just assumed we were going to post a bad number today and instead we are big winners.”
The upset resulted in a seven-figure swing in favor of William Hill alone, according to William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich.
Ninety percent of the money on the money line at William Hill was on the Steelers and 86 percent of the money on the point spread was on Pittsburgh. A William Hill bettor in Iowa lost a money line wager for more than $51,000 on the Steelers (-1,100) that would’ve paid $4,700.
BetMGM also needed the Bengals in a very big way. One bettor lost $220,000 on a straight bet on the Steelers -14.
A day after bettors lost big on the Rams in the second half, gamblers also lost on the Steelers in the second half. Pittsburgh was -10 at halftime, when it trailed Cincinnati 17-0. But it didn’t cover the second-half spread, outscoring the Bengals by seven points.
“I don’t think it was quite as huge as the Rams’ second half was, but it was good for us that the Steelers’ second half lost,” Murray said.
A $100 money line parlay on the Jets (+1,100) and Bengals (+750) would’ve paid $10,000.
A William Hill bettor in Nevada cashed a $1,000 money line wager to win $7,500 on Cincinnati (+750) and one in New Jersey hit a $1,300 money line bet on the Bengals that paid $9,100 at 7-1 odds.
It was the first time since 1973 that two NFL underdogs of 14 points or more won outright in the same week, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
