Super Bowl betting update has Chiefs holding steady, total dipping
Less than three hours before kickoff of Super Bowl LIV, the Chiefs are holding steady as 1½-point favorites over the 49ers and the consensus total has dipped to 53½.
Most Las Vegas sportsbooks need the Niners and under.
“The masses are on Kansas City,” William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich said.
A William Hill bettor in Las Vegas made the largest wager on Super Sunday, a $525,000 straight bet on the Chiefs -1. But William Hill still needs Kansas City to cover for its Nevada books because it takes a ton of San Francisco action at its Northern Nevada locations.
“Everywhere except Nevada we need San Francisco,” Bogdanovich said.
Every other Las Vegas book, besides MGM Resorts, needs the Niners, including Caesars Entertainment, Station Casinos, the Westgate and the Golden Nugget.
William Hill and Circa was at -1 and South Point was the only book at -2.
MGM Resorts has taken a bevy of six-figure wagers on both sides, including a $1 million money-line bet on the 49ers and straight bets of $750,000 on the Chiefs -1½ and $550,000 on the Chiefs -1.
“Actually, I’m ready for the game to kick off. We’re a winner all the way around,” The Mirage sportsbook director Jeff Stoneback said. “Our best-case scenario would be the game going under either way.
“Under 42½ and the Chiefs winning by 1 would be a big bonanza for us. That’s my dream scenario, Chiefs 21-20.”
In that scenario, MGM would win all Niners money-line bets, all Chiefs’ bets -1½ and all bets on the under, including a $450,000 wager to win $100,000 on over the alternate total of 42½.
The total climbed as high as 55 before dipping to 53½ on Sunday.
“Sharp money is on the under today and the public is still going over,” Stoneback said.
Moments after Stoneback made that statement, he reported via text message that a bettor at The Mirage who wagered millions of dollars on the college bowl games and NFL playoffs placed a $330,000 wager on over 53½ and $50,000 on over 10½ in the first quarter at +120.
The Golden Nugget and Treasure Island were the only books at 54 on Sunday afternoon.
“The under is the key,” Sunset Station sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “As an industry, it’s not as much a side as it’s keeping the game under.
“The worst case right now is Chiefs and over. We’re in fairly decent shape in all of the other five potential outcomes. The best case is the Niners win and under or even if the Chiefs cover and it stays under.”
CG Technology took a $127,000 money-line bet on the Chiefs (-127) and a $115,000 straight bet on Kansas City -1 (-115) before moving the line to 1½.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
