Bettor wins $100K on Rams to score 3 points in Super Bowl

Los Angeles Rams' Jared Goff (16) reacts after his pass was intercepted during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 53 football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019, in Atlanta. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

The Super Bowl was all but over Sunday when Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein lined up for a virtually meaningless 48-yard field goal with five seconds left and Los Angeles trailing 13-3.

But the kick meant quite a lot to a bettor at the South Point sportsbook who wagered $250 at 400-1 odds that the Rams would score exactly three points.

When Greg “The Leg” missed wide left and L.A. lost 13-3, the bettor won $100,000.

Pros win, Joes lose

Sharp bettors, who mostly bet under and no on player props, cleaned up in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history.

But the betting public wasn’t as fortunate as Las Vegas sportsbooks won big on the more than 1,000 wagering options on the NFL title game.

“They just bet over on everything and yes,” Westgate sportsbook manager Ed Salmons said. “The house did really well on props. That’s essentially what saved the day for us. That and futures. We lost the game but the props did great.”

Long shot props

The Westgate lost a few long shots, including no touchdown scored in first half (100-1) and no touchdown by a Rams player (50-1). The total points scored in the game between 15 and 20 paid 100-1.

William Hill bettors cashed 52 tickets at 30-1 odds that there would be only one or two TDs scored and 708 tickets cashed at plus 475 that there would be at least one scoreless quarter.

Books lose on MVP prop

The Westgate also lost on the Super Bowl MVP, paying out 30-1 on Julian Edelman, who finished with 10 receptions for 141 yards.

“There was so much money bet into the MVP prop, it was incredible,” Salmons said. “They want to bet a little to make a lot and it adds up.

“It was hard to see a game where Edelman wins the MVP and (Tom) Brady doesn’t.”

Bettors won on Edelman and Rob Gronkowski (six catches, 87 yards) to go over their receptions and yards and also won on Sony Michel (18 carries, 94 yards, TD) to go over his rushing yards and score the first touchdown (6-1) and last touchdown (7-1).

William Hill bettors had 1,307 tickets on Michel to score the first TD and 123 tickets to score the last TD. William Hill also paid 373 tickets at 4-1 that kicker Stephen Gostkowski would score the game’s first points.

Popular public props lose

But the public lost almost all of the traditional plus-money props, including overtime, safety, defensive/special teams TD, two-point attempt and conversion, fourth-down conversion, and over 2½ players to have a pass attempt.

A plethora of popular player props to go over went under, including Tom Brady and Jared Goff’s attempts, completions, yards and TDs and Todd Gurley and James White’s rushing yards, receptions and receiving yards.

Fowler crushes prop

Most cross-sport props were won by players and teams in sports besides football. The most extreme example was Rickie Fowler’s fourth-round score in the Phoenix Open vs. total yardage of all TDs in the Super Bowl. Fowler won 74-2 (Michel’s 2-yard run was the only TD).

Money train to Georgia

Nevada books aren’t permitted to offer a prop bet on the total time of the national anthem. But online books took action on Gladys Knight’s rendition before Sunday’s game and put the over-under at 1 minute, 50 seconds.

According to a BetOnline.ag spokesperson, the offshore book lost an estimated six figures on the anthem when it paid both sides of the bet due to a controversial ending.

Rules stipulate the clock stops at the end of the very first “brave,” when Knight was clocked at 1 minute, 49 seconds. But after a substantial pause, she kept singing. After finishing the word “brave” for a second time, Knight was clocked at 1 minute, 53 seconds.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.