There’s at least one gambler out there very confident in Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
At least one person has turned in a bet larger than $1 million for the Patriots to win the Super Bowl, the Sporting News noted. The bet came in at MGM Resorts in Las Vegas, though officials there wouldn’t give the exact total of the bet.
Other Las Vegas books say they’re seeing a lot of action on the New England Patriots, though they’re not all getting million dollar bets.
“We’re not as heavy on New England as we were the last few days after taking some money on Seattle today,” South Point bookmaker Jimmy Vaccaro told the Las Vegas Sun . “But I’m just guessing, like everyone else at this point, that we’ll come out a little top heavy on New England.”
The bettor has a chance to hit it very big. The Patriots are two point favorites , so if the gambler played the spread they will need New England to win by at least a field goal in exchange for another seven figures. The Patriots are also -115 on the moneyline, meaning a $115 bet on the Patriots would win $100. So even if the bet is exactly $1 million, a Patriots win would net somewhere around $870,000.
Las Vegas books collectively are expecting nine-digit figures being wagered on the game. Last year bettors laid down $119.4 million on the Super Bowl, and some think it will be even bigger this year. Westgate SuperBook vice president, Jay Kornegay, said gambling has become more and more popular, and having two of the league’s most popular teams in the game is a huge boost as well.
“I believe that the spike that we saw last year was mainly due to the two teams participating in it and the overall growth of sports betting,” Kornegay told CBSSports.com . “Progress (or in-game) wagering also boosted those numbers — so there’s a few factors that were involved in setting that record with last year’s game.”
Whether the mystery bettor comes through on the seven-figure bet on the Patriots, it’s more than likely that the Nevada casinos will be the real winner. Sports books have come out ahead in all but two Super Bowls over the last 25 years, including more than $19 million in revenue last year.
