Rams money shows up at sportsbooks on Super Bowl eve

The silence of the Rams bettors was broken at Las Vegas sportsbooks on the eve of the Super Bowl.

After heavy action on the underdog Bengals caused the consensus line to drop from 4½ to 4, money on the Rams sent the number back to 4½ on Saturday at Circa Sports and the South Point. It was 4 everywhere else.

“The last couple of days, it’s been all Bengals. But right from (Saturday) morning, it’s been all Rams money,” South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews said. “Right now, we definitely need the Bengals pretty good.”

South Point and the Westgate SuperBook are offering a dime line (-105 on both sides) until kickoff. The SuperBook also is offering a 15-cent split on the money line, where the Rams are -195 and the Bengals +180.

“We are finally seeing some Rams money get to town this weekend,” SuperBook director John Murray said. “But it was so one-sided on the Bengals.

“You always expect public bettors to be on the underdog on the money line. But it’s noteworthy that 55 percent of the tickets on the point spread are still on the underdog.”

Cincinnati also leads the ticket count at Station Casinos (58 percent), Caesars Sportsbook (58 percent) and BetMGM (55 percent).

The Bengals lead the way in money wagered at the SuperBook, which took a $380,000 bet on Cincinnati +4.

“We’ll be lopsided because all of our big bets have been on the Bengals,” Murray said. “But I think there’s big money out there looking to bet the Rams. We always get a ton of volume Saturday night and Sunday morning.”

The Rams are the money leaders by a 2-1 margin at BetMGM, which took a $550,000 straight bet on Los Angeles -4.

“If the game kicked off right now, we would need the Bengals for a pretty sizable amount,” MGM Resorts director of trading Jeff Stoneback said.

Not surprisingly, Caesars Sportsbook, which has taken $9.5 million in bets on the Bengals on the money line (+170) from Houston furniture store owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, needs the Rams to win.

“But we are seeing consistent Rams money (Saturday),” Caesars vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said after taking two bets on Los Angeles totaling $620,000.

The best case for Station Casinos, which has taken six-figure bets on both sides, is for the Rams to win but not cover and for the game to go under.

“Right now, the one thing we’re rooting against is a Bengals outright win and over,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said.

The total is 49 (over -130) at Treasure Island and 48½ everywhere else.

The South Point needs the over after taking a $110,000 wager on under 49.

With props accounting for more than half the Super Bowl betting handle, Murray said books would prefer a relatively boring game.

“Our biggest need every year in the Super Bowl is for the game to be kind of uneventful,” he said. “If the Rams won 20-10 or something like that, that would be the ideal outcome for us. I’m sure we’d clean up on props.”

Andrews agrees.

“The handle is not that great on the game, but the props are doing unbelievable business,” he said. “The ones we get play on every year are whether there will be overtime, a safety and a 2-point conversion. Wise guys come in with no, and the public all bets yes. We’ve got some big money on those.

“The ones we’re getting the most action on are the sack props. They’re betting over sacks for the game and over sacks for the Rams but under sacks on the Bengals.”

Other popular props are Evan McPherson over 1½ field goals, Joe Burrow over 11½ rushing yards, Cooper Kupp over receiving yards (107½ after opening at 102½) and Aaron Donald to win MVP.

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