William Hill would get ‘bludgeoned’ if Titans win Super Bowl

William Hill sportsbook has capitalized on the spread of legal sports betting by opening books in six states, including Nevada.

But it will take a big hit back East if the Tennessee Titans continue their surprising playoff run and win the Super Bowl.

“Any time a team like Tennessee comes out of the blue, there’s always a chance you can get hurt,” William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich said. “Back East, we get bludgeoned by the Titans. Anyone but the Titans is what we’re rooting for.”

A William Hill bettor placed a $4,500 wager to win $337,500 on the Titans at 75-1 odds March 4.

Another bettor placed a $3,000 wager to win $300,000 on Tennessee at 100-1 odds Dec. 1.

On the flip side, the Titans winning it all is the best-case scenario for the Westgate sportsbook.

“Because nobody bets the Titans,” Westgate vice president Jay Kornegay said. “We don’t look very good on the 49ers to win the NFC, but other than that we’re pretty solid.”

William Hill also would lose if San Francisco wins the Super Bowl.

“All along, Frisco has been no good (for the book) because it’s a West Coast team and we’ve got so many books up north and they were already good with (quarterback) Jimmy (Garoppolo),” Bogdanovich said. “Back East, we’re really good with the 49ers. The Chiefs and the Packers are both good.”

Bright futures

That’s despite a William Hill bettor placing a $15,000 wager to win $210,000 on the Chiefs at 14-1 on Nov. 1. And another gambler placing a $20,000 bet to win $130,000 on the Packers at 13-2 on Oct. 27.

CG Technology sportsbook wins mid-six figures on all four remaining teams in Super Bowl futures, with Green Bay its best-case scenario.

CG also wins on the Packers, Chiefs and 49ers on conference futures, with the Titans a small loser.

Chiefs favored over 49ers

Kansas City was a 4-1 co-Super Bowl favorite with New England early in the season before dropping to 14-1 in October after quarterback Patrick Mahomes dislocated his kneecap in a win over the Broncos.

The Chiefs were given the slight edge over the 49ers as Super Bowl favorites Monday at the Westgate and CG Technology. Each has K.C. as a plus 140 favorite and San Francisco as the plus 150 second choice.

The Niners are the plus 130 favorite at William Hill, with the Chiefs the plus 140 second choice.

The AFC is a 1-point favorite over the NFC in the early Super Bowl LIV line at the Westgate and the total is 50½.

“If Frisco beats the Packers 41-0 and Kansas City wins 21-20, the 49ers would be the favorite,” Bogdanovich said. “But if they both look exactly the same, I’d make K.C. a slight favorite.”

What gives the Chiefs the edge?

“Mahomes and auto,” Bogdanovich quipped.

In-play ‘massacre’

When the Patriots erased a 28-3 third-quarter deficit in their 34-28 overtime win over the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, William Hill suffered a seven-figure loss on in-play wagering as 159 bets were cashed at odds of 10-1 or greater.

But Bogdanovich said the book broke even on in-play wagering Sunday when the Chiefs stormed back from a 24-0 second-quarter deficit in a 51-31 win over the Texans. Kansas City was a 3-1 in-play money line underdog at one point.

“Any time a good team falls that far behind and (bettors) take the plus price, we lose automatically … 99 times out of 100,” he said. “But for whatever reason, we broke even (on the Chiefs). We did take some Texans money at minus 300.”

Kornegay said the Westgate also escaped much damage on in-play, but CG Technology sportsbook director Tony DiTommaso said it was a different story at his book.

“We actually got massacred to it,” he said. “But when the Ravens got down and didn’t come back, we won a pile to that.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow

@tdewey33 on Twitter.