. 28, 2003
LAS VEGAS Official figures aren't expected to be released until later this week, but guesses are Nevada hotels came out slightly ahead on Sunday's Super Bowl.
"I think most places showed a little profit, but a lot of it was because of parlay cards and futures," said Cesar Robaina, odds manager for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Stardust race and sports book director Bob Scucci agreed.
"I think we're a small winner mostly because of future bets and how the 'props' fell," he said.
But make no mistake, Tampa Bay destroying Oakland, 48-21, was not a great result for the house.
The Raiders were four-point favorites at many of the hotels for most of the week, until dipping to 3 1/2 the day of the game. There were a lot of Oakland tickets written, but the heavy money was on the underdog Bucs.
"We pretty much broke even," Scucci said. "We really needed the Raiders, if not to cover the point spread, at least win straight-up to cover us on the money line."
Despite adjusted odds that were lower than normal, bettors continually pounded the Bucs on the money line.
"Tampa Bay straight-up was bad," Robaina said. "The money line was just a killer."
While the books often fare well overall on the many 'props,' bettors did well on picking Tampa Bay to win by a certain amount of points.
"The 'prop' that really hurt us was the one on Tampa Bay to win by over a certain number like 3 1/2, seven, 10 1/2 and 14 1/2," Scucci said. "Those all won, of course. When they're betting $100 and getting back $500, it's tough to overcome."
The biggest surprise and disappointment for bookmakers was that expected Oakland money never showed up. Robaina, Scucci and others thought the Raiders would be popular because most recreational bettors were from California and they are perceived as a strong public team.
"We never saw Oakland money," Scucci said. "We thought the weekend would bring Oakland money, but it just never came in."
This fact isn't lost on Robaina. With parity becoming such an overwhelming factor in the NFL, and the betting public a lot sharper, there could be more short Super Bowl pointspreads.
No longer can an assumption be made that the public automatically is just going to play the favorite, or the public team.
"We're going to have to keep it closer to the vest," Robaina said about making Super Bowl lines. "We're not going to try to Einstein it."
And Station Casinos lost their ass.
Thanks to all the Jackers who did their part.
LAS VEGAS Official figures aren't expected to be released until later this week, but guesses are Nevada hotels came out slightly ahead on Sunday's Super Bowl.
"I think most places showed a little profit, but a lot of it was because of parlay cards and futures," said Cesar Robaina, odds manager for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Stardust race and sports book director Bob Scucci agreed.
"I think we're a small winner mostly because of future bets and how the 'props' fell," he said.
But make no mistake, Tampa Bay destroying Oakland, 48-21, was not a great result for the house.
The Raiders were four-point favorites at many of the hotels for most of the week, until dipping to 3 1/2 the day of the game. There were a lot of Oakland tickets written, but the heavy money was on the underdog Bucs.
"We pretty much broke even," Scucci said. "We really needed the Raiders, if not to cover the point spread, at least win straight-up to cover us on the money line."
Despite adjusted odds that were lower than normal, bettors continually pounded the Bucs on the money line.
"Tampa Bay straight-up was bad," Robaina said. "The money line was just a killer."
While the books often fare well overall on the many 'props,' bettors did well on picking Tampa Bay to win by a certain amount of points.
"The 'prop' that really hurt us was the one on Tampa Bay to win by over a certain number like 3 1/2, seven, 10 1/2 and 14 1/2," Scucci said. "Those all won, of course. When they're betting $100 and getting back $500, it's tough to overcome."
The biggest surprise and disappointment for bookmakers was that expected Oakland money never showed up. Robaina, Scucci and others thought the Raiders would be popular because most recreational bettors were from California and they are perceived as a strong public team.
"We never saw Oakland money," Scucci said. "We thought the weekend would bring Oakland money, but it just never came in."
This fact isn't lost on Robaina. With parity becoming such an overwhelming factor in the NFL, and the betting public a lot sharper, there could be more short Super Bowl pointspreads.
No longer can an assumption be made that the public automatically is just going to play the favorite, or the public team.
"We're going to have to keep it closer to the vest," Robaina said about making Super Bowl lines. "We're not going to try to Einstein it."
And Station Casinos lost their ass.
Thanks to all the Jackers who did their part.
