Another week is completed with the Bowl season underway and the NFL regular season winding down. Monday Night Football had the bookmakers in an odd position where they were rooting for both teams depending on the scenario. The perfect result would have been a San Francisco win, but a Pittsburgh cover. Even though the majority of the “side” action was on the 49ers, there were a ton of open parlays with Steelers on the “moneyline” as many bettors passed on the points and backed Pittsburgh straight up. So before we get into the action, the quote of the week comes from Chris Andrews from the Cal Neva family of sportsbooks:
“We had a customer hit a $100 dollar pleaser (reverse teaser) card. A 6-teamer paid $70,000. His last leg was the Chargers -4.5. I don't think he broke a sweat after halftime.”
How did Sunday NFL end up for the bookmakers:
“Chiefs straight up against Packers. We have a progressive card where you just pick winners of every game. Just 1.4% of picks had the Chiefs so we have carryover.
Worst game: Patriots over Broncos. Tebow is a polarizing figure but everyone was betting against him this week. The line opened 4.5 and was bet to 8 by kickoff in some places. Larry Fitzgerald from scoring a touchdown on the 4 yard line and Arizona opting to kick the field goal on first down saved us, as Arizona did not cover the number.”
-Jimmy Vaccaro from Lucky's Race and Sports Book
“6 outright Dog wins and 5 of those games going under made it a phenomenal Sunday for us. Further proves how difficult the NFL is to predict. Last weekend we absolutely got it handed to us, this week the complete opposite!”
-Phill Gray the Line Management Supervisor from Sports Interaction
“Too many dogs, with the right mix of favorites, hit yesterday. Coming out of the early games we were set up for a great day, the Saints and Bengals were our only bad games. We lost every one of the late games, however. The Raider game was particularly brutal with a 13-point lead late and giving away the final touchdown with: 39 on the clock to get middled. That hurt. Bad.”
-Chris Andrews from Cal Neva
With the Bowl season underway, what is the action looking like for the upcoming games:
‘This week in college football the money is on three of the big favorites: TCU, Boise St and Southern Miss. Wolf Pack bettors are notorious for not backing their football team so don't expect Nevada fans to steam the local team.”
-Chris Andrews from Cal Neva
“We are .5 point off most everywhere on Boise St @-14 -115, we still can’t get any Arizona St money for the Las Vegas Bowl.”
-Phill Gray the Line Management Supervisor from Sports Interaction
“Line movement in the BCS National Championship game. Before Championship Week we opened LSU as two-point dogs. Moved to LSU -1. Currently Alabama is one-point chalk.”
-Oddsmakers from BetOnline
“We’ve seen money on SMU after the Pitt coach quit. A little money on Wisconsin over Oregon in the Rose Bowl. A lot of early money on Alabama over LSU”
-Jimmy Vaccaro from Lucky's Race and Sports Book
The New Orleans Saints continue to roll and after this weekend went from 7-1 to win the Super Bowl to 9-2. Obviously there is no way they can play each other in the big game, I was curious on a neutral field who would be favored. Checked in with a few oddsmakers to see what they thought:
“A lot depends on the weather of course. Weather not a negative impact: GB -1.0/U 56.0.” -Oddsmakers from BetOnline “I have Green Bay -3 over New Orleans on a neutral. That could get a lot closer, however. I want to see how Green Bay plays with all these OL injuries. One thing in Green Bay's favor is if KC provided a blueprint for beating them, it's the 49ers who could best play that type of game, not the Saints” -Chris Andrews from Cal Neva
“GB -3. Indoor game total: 55. Outdoor game total: 49” -Jimmy Vaccaro from Lucky's Race and Sports Book
Other tidbits:
-Many offshore and Las Vegas sportsbooks had Green Bay Packers "undefeated" and Indianapolis Colts "winless" props that were graded on Sunday thanks the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans. 80% of the action on the Packers props were on YES they would go 16-0, so a good result for the bookies while the Colts action was more split with about 55% of the wagers on them going 0-16.
-Direct from Las Vegas: “The biggest bet NFL game for next week is the Eagles-Cowboys game by far. Eagles opened +3, but have already moved down to +1.5. Public is on the Cowboys, sharps on the Eagles.”
-Odds to win the NFC East: Cowboys -225, Giants +200, Eagles +500
-Odds to win the AFC West: Broncos -325, Chargers +350, Raiders +450, Chiefs +1800
Las Vegas Contributors:
-Chris Andrews from Cal Neva: Las Vegas bookmaker at Cal Neva working directly with legendary oddsmaker Nick Bogdanovich. Cal Neva has 35 locations throughout Nevada, including the Las Vegas strip, Henderson, Mesquite, Reno, Sparks, Carson City, South Lake Tahoe, Jackpot, and Gardnerville. You can catch Chris on ESPN945.com and follow him on twitter at @andrewssports.
-Jimmy Vaccaro from Lucky's Race and Sports Book: Legendary Las Vegas bookmaker and Director of Sports Operations and Public Relations. Lucky’s Race & Sports Book has 17 locations, including the Riviera Hotel & Casino, Fitzgeralds Casino & Hotel, Plaza Hotel & Casino and Terrible's Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno, John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks, Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall and River Palms Resort Casino in Laughlin. Follow Jimmy V and Lucky’s on twitter at @JimmyVaccaro and @betatluckys.
Offshore Contributors:
-Oddsmakers from BetOnline: BetOnline operates out of Panama City, Panama, which has been referred to as "the banking capital of Latin America". Panama is a reliable and secure business environment, providing a solid infrastructure, cutting-edge Internet bandwidth and a government that strictly regulates and monitors offshore gaming activity. @DaveMasonBOL
-Phill Gray the Line Management Supervisor from Sports Interaction: Sports Interaction, the first online sportsbook licensed and regulated in North America, has been the No 1 choice in the online gambling market for more than ten years. Sports Interaction is overseen and regulated by the Kanhawake Gaming Commission