Bettor wagers $220K on Steelers, sharps take sides
Bettors typically shy away from two-touchdown favorites in the NFL. But a BetMGM bettor placed a $220,000 straight wager to win $200,000 on the Steelers -14 over the Bengals on “Monday Night Football.”
When BetMGM moved the line to 14½ after taking the big bet, sharp bettors took Cincinnati.
Circa Sports reported two-way sharp action on the side and total.
“They laid 13 and took 14½, over 40 and under 40½,” Circa sportsbook manager Chris Bennett said. “The public doesn’t seem interested other than teasing the Steelers down.
“We need the Bengals to win to kill parlays and teaser liability.”
The Westgate also is rooting for Cincinnati (2-10-1) to follow the lead of the Jets (1-13) and pull an outright upset as a large double-digit underdog. New York stunned the Rams as 17-point underdogs in Sunday’s 23-20 win.
“We are just loaded with the money line parlays from the weekend that carry over to the Steelers,” Westgate sportsbook director John Murray said.
Pittsburgh opened as a 12-point favorite and the line topped out at 14½ before dropping to a consensus -14 on Monday at Las Vegas sportsbooks.
The total is 40½ across the board after opening at 41½.
The Steelers (11-2) have lost two straight games following their 11-0 start and are on an 0-3 ATS slide. They’ve already clinched a playoff berth but can clinch the AFC North title and at least one home playoff game with a win as they try to hold off the Bills (11-3) for the No. 2 seed in the AFC.
The Bengals, who are starting third-string quarterback Ryan Finley, have averaged 10.3 points in their last three games and are on a 1-4 spread slide after starting the season 6-2 ATS.
“Pittsburgh’s No. 1 goal is to right the ship but remain healthy for their big matchup against Indy (on Sunday),” said professional sports bettor Cris Zeniuk (@lasvegascris). “It really just feels like a run the clock game and get out of Dodge.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
