BetMGM takes largest Super Bowl prop bet wager
The largest Super Bowl prop bet wager was made Friday.
A BetMGM bettor in Nevada wagered $225,000 on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to surpass 1½ passing touchdowns in Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, according to spokesperson Elisa Richardson.
Should the over hit, the bettor would win $100,000.
The betting public started to arrive in Las Vegas, but it wasn’t enough to change the line and total at sportsbooks.
“Still mostly Eagles money,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said via text message.
The Eagles remain 1½-point favorites over Kansas City at BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, Circa Sports and the Westgate SuperBook, as they have all week.
Boyd Gaming, South Point and Station Casinos were the prominent sportsbooks listing Eagles -2.
“One thing we’ve seen today is some larger bets on Kansas City, but continuing to be very balanced,” Westgate SuperBook director John Murray said.
To illustrate that point, Murray noted the SuperBook has written three more tickets on the Chiefs money line than the Eagles.
The Eagles have picked up 70.3 percent of the spread tickets and 72.5 percent of the spread handle at Caesars Sportsbook.
Philadelphia also is seeing the majority of the money-line handle at 57.2 percent, while the Chiefs have the edge in tickets (56.4 percent).
“I guess that I’d say I’m a tad surprised by how much Eagles action it’s been,” said Adam Pullen, Caesars assistant director of trading. “I made this game a pick, so I think it’s pretty much a coin flip. Maybe it’s still resonating how good the Eagles have looked in the playoff, and people must think that the Eagles defense can slow down Mahomes.
“Starting (Friday), that’s when the action really heats up. We’re going to get the bulk of the activity then, and it’s going to dwarf whatever we’ve taken at this point.”
The total is 51 almost across the board, with BetMGM offering 50½. Murray said the SuperBook will need the game to stay under the total.
At Caesars, the largest wager on the total was reported Friday with a Nevada bettor putting down $270,039.90 on over 50½ (-110). That same bettor previously wagered $110,000 on over 50 (-110), Caesars reported.
The over has seen 57.6 percent of the tickets and 61.4 percent of the handle at Caesars.
“The money dictated the move, we took some big bets on over 50 and over 50½, so we had to go back to 51,” Pullen said. “I didn’t think that would be the case. But there’s two weeks ahead of the game, so just because something happened last week doesn’t mean it’ll happen this week.
“It’s definitely been a difference of opinions, and this week it’s been a steady stream of over money. So we have 51 as the number for now, we’ll see where it is in the coming days.”
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.