Super Bowl 52 Betting Update
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
Roberts is a former Las Vegas sports book director that has been covering the sports betting industry for the last 13 years.
Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook Props | Super Bowl 52 Line Moves
Update - Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018 - 2:15 p.m. ET
Caesars Palace kicked off Sunday's Super Bowl betting party bright and early in Las Vegas by raising the Patriots from -4.5 to -5 giving the appearance that Eagles money has already made its mark and Patriots money is about to roll the number back upwards across town.
But a short time later at 9:26 a.m. PT, the South Point dropped its number from -4.5 to -4. Sports book director Chris Andrews said he got "$400,000 more on the dog from two different bettors" spurring the move. The South Point has been loaded with large Eagles money on the spread and money-line. They're Patriots fans right now, for sure.
That's the way it's looking all over town with most books sitting at -4.5. Friday and Saturday brought in an estimated 311,000 people for the weekend party and while the Patriots-Eagles betting divide has been more equal over the weekend, the earlier risk on the Eagles is still lingering at several bet shops.
"We've got a pretty heavy decision," Boyd Gaming sports book director Bob Scucci said Sunday morning. "Our best case scenario right now is for the Patriots to win and cover and the game staying Under. We got quite a bit of Patriots money the last two days, but not as much as expected."
The money flying into town appears to have made more of an impact on the total where most books are sitting at 49 -- Boyd Gaming went to 49 Over -115 Sunday morning. The limits are set less for the total on straight bet wagers, but where its risk is showing most is with parlays.
"We're seeing both sides being an equal choice in parlays, but close to 70 percent of those choices have also taken the Over," Scucci said. "It's the same with teasers, but ironically, it's the opposite with first-half wagers where they've parlayed most to the Under."
Scucci said he moved the Over price to -115, Under -105, because he doesn't want to get past 49 after opening 47.5. He wants Under money, though. The number 49 is key. It equals seven TD's, which just happened in the divisional round for the Patriots in a 35-14 win against the Titans. No book wants to cross Over 49 to 49.5 and open up a larger middle opportunity on the biggest bet game of the year.
Wynn Resorts and Golden Nugget have their totals set at 48.5 after brief stints at 49. Nugget sports book director Tony Miller is one of the few bosses in town rooting for Over. "The Patriots wining by seven or more and the Over is our best scenario," he said.
Not every book needs the Patriots, though. Westgate Super Book VP Jay Kornegay said with five hours until kickoff that they need the Eagles to win outright and stay Under. His book is one of the few rooting for Philly, but he says it's not a huge decision.
Up north in Reno, Atlantis book director Marc Nelson said a Patriots cover and Under is best for them as well. "The only way we lose is if the dog money-line hits and it also goes Over."
William Hill's Nick Bogdanovich has 108 sports books across the state and is seeing the same action at his north and south locations. His books have set their own record for handle already and he needs the Patriots to cover and Under thanks to three separate $1 million wagers on the Eagles -- two on the money-line and one taking the points.
MGM Resorts took a multi-million dollar wager on the Eagles last week and book VP Jay Rood said his best situation at 11:15 a.m. PT is "Patriots win, but don't cover and the game stays Under 48."
That's all I got for Sunday's pre-game stuff. Things could change by kickoff in regards to who the books need, but the flip would have most likely happened Saturday.
I'll have a final update following the game after all the books post their hundreds of props.
Update - Friday, Feb. 2, 2018 - 10:00 p.m. ET
Can you imagine Paul Revere proclaiming to the streets on Boston saying "Patriots money is coming?"
Well, it's coming and the Las Vegas visitors are rapidly flying into town with intentions of backing Tom Brady and the five-time Super Bowl champions New England Patriots. Or at least that's the early indication from Vegas newbies as Super Bowl 52 is less than 48 hours from kickoff.
We saw the last of the Patriots minus-4 in Las Vegas when the South Point, Station Casinos and Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook all bumped up in unison as Pats wagers came through to a move to -4.5. The last move came at the famed SuperBook.
"We've been at -4 since Monday at noon and we're starting to see New England money now. We might go back to -4.5 soon," said SuperBook VP Jay Kornegay prior to his bump up.
This thing isn't going any lower, so Pats fans get in line and bet now at a number that was once -6.5 at Wynn.
Willliam Hill's lead [...] Nick Bogdanovich is seeing Patriots action as well, but it's not enough to move them off the number. "Everyone's still on the Eagles," he said.
Stations move was based on some large wagers coming back on the Patriots.
"We've had quite few six-figure bets on both sides of the game," said Art Manteris who runs the 16 Station Casinos sports books in Las Vegas. "I have no clue what is going to happen with the Super Bowl betting the rest of the way and we haven't even hit crunch time yet."
Handle has been huge everywhere which makes a record setting third straight year for betting handle increases in Nevada
"What we've seen this year is a higher request for Super Bowl seating and and also handle. I'd be shocked if another record isn't broken (within the state)," said Manteris.
Kornegay says his book is almost even as far as liability.
We'll se how this story rolls the next two days. But let it be known for Eagles fans that they can wait a while for action on money-line and the spread. Whenever 5 and 5.5 are a possibility, a move upward is easier.
Also know that the the bulk of large Philly action around town is from one bettor who could care less about the number. This guy, alledgedly, won a ton on the World Series and he routinely bet the Eagles during the regular season and did well as the Eagles went 12-6 against the spread.
The scene in Las Vegas is amazing on a Friday and an estimated 311,000 people have arrived for the party. Have fun in Minneapolis, it's 75 degrees in Las Vegas.
Update - Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018 - 4:30 p.m. ET
As it sits Thursday afternoon, MGM Resorts book VP Jay Rood will be rooting for the Patriots and needing quarterback Tom Brady to win a Super Bowl isn't exactly the worse thing to need for the house.
"Yeah, it's not like we need the Browns to win a game to avoid a winless season,"said Rood with a chuckle.
Last week Rood took the biggest known bet in Las Vegas during the two week Super Bowl season. There's no official word from Rood or MGM Resorts on the exact amount, only Rood staying it was a multi-million dollar bet on the Eagles. He's got liability on the Eagles at +5.5 and also the Eagles money-line at +185, +180 and +170.
He said his cash disparity wagered on the money-line has 70 percent on the Eagles and 30 percent on the Patriots. That's a scary thought on the risk where that 70 percent slice of the pie is paying out at 9-to-5 odds (Bet $100 to win $180).
"I'm not panicking," Rood said. "We've still got a long ways to go and I'm expecting a lot more six-figure type wagers on the Patriots. I had a guy inquire about a large wager on them already today."
Rood dropped the Patriots money-line to -180 on Thursday afternoon in an attempt to lure more action. The best Patriots numbers in town are at William Hill and Golden Nugget at -175/+155.
William Hill books took a $1 million wager Monday on the Eagles money-line at +165. On Wednesday, the William Hill book in The Bahamas took a $1.1 million bet on the Eagles +4.5 -110 and $500,000 on +4.5 -115.
MGM Resorts handle on the game has already surpassed what they did last season at same juncture when Nevada set a record ($138.5 million) for the second consecutive year.
"We're ahead of last year because we've had some large wagers earlier than usual, but Saturday's action should be a huge barometer of where we're actually at because we wrote a ton," said Rood who also had additional write with their phone accounts being in service for a month.
"The phones were a big boost to us," he said. "Last year at this time we had 1,000 active accounts and this time around we have 12,000."
Wise guys love the phones and MGM takes action from most of them. Last season was also the first year MGM books offered in-progress wagering on the Super Bowl, so the combination between in-progress and 12,000 accounts should easily help MGM surpass their own Super Bowl write record.
No official record to verify, but I'd easily lay -250 that MGM Resorts writes the biggest chuck of Super Bowl action in Nevada. They've got 12 books lined up and down all the popular parts of the strip and dozens of whales loaded with cash and unlimited credit flying in for the game.
The best Patriots number in town is -4 at the Westgate, South Point, Station Casinos and Caesars Palace. They're all waiting for the Pats money, but not quite begging for it yet. Don't expect -3.5 anytime soon. The rest of the books are at -4.5 with Boyd Gaming at -4.5 -105.
The majority of the books are still cool with their total at 48, but John Avello at Wynn moved to 48.5 on Thursday. Boyd Gaming went there Wednesday -- they were at a high of 49 last week. Stations and Stratosphere are also at 48.5.
Update - Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018 - 6:30 p.m. ET
Veteran [...] Bob Scucci has been known as one of the more conservative [...]s in Las Vegas from his tenure running the famed Stardust sports book to his current position as head of Boyd Gaming's 12 Las Vegas books. But for this Super Bowl, he's been way ahead of the market with the best favorite number since odds were initially offered last week. He's long on the Eagles, but he's seeing Patriots money filtering through which caused him to go from Patriots -4 -110 to -4 -120, his first movement upward on the Pats side.
"We got a lot of Eagles bets early on in the five-figure range that piled up with no support of the Patriots," Scucci said Wednesday afternoon for his office at the Orleans Hotel and Casino. "But when we went to +4 we we're still seeing large wagers on the Eagles and its didn't stop when we offered +4 -115. Now we're finally starting to see more Patriots action with some sharp play getting involved."
The Boyd properties initially opened Patriots -6.5 -105 and within 30 minutes they were at -5.5. Then they were the first to go to -4.5 four days later, the first to -4 a day later and now he's been maneuvering with the juice price with hopes that he doesn't have to move off the hard number of -4.
It's still a long haul with so much action yet to pass through the bets windows.
"We've probably handled about 15 percent of what we'll eventually see," he said. "I think between Friday, Saturday and Sunday we'll get 80 percent of overall action."
It's looking like the Nevada record of $138.5 million handled on the Super Bowl will be shattered making it the third straight year a record is broken. Thank you props, thank you mobile phone wagering and thank you in-progress wagering.
Boyd Gaming needs the Patriots a little more in Super Bowl futures, but they still do well with the Eagles. Win-Win.
Scucci made the comparison of this line movement to what happened in the Broncos last two Super Bowls.
"When Denver played the Seahawks, it was Broncos money early on moving Seattle from short favorite to Denver -1.5 or -2 and wise guys took the Seahawks on game day," he said. When Denver played Carolina, everyone bet what they saw last which was Carolina winning big in the NFC title game and Denver winning a close game in the AFC title game, and it was all Carolina money early, but it flipped on game day to us needing Carolina.
The Seahawks 43-8 blowout over the Broncos in Super Bowl 48 propelled the state to its largest win ever at $19.6 million.
The shocker of the late Wednesday afternoon was that despite an appearance of Patriots money arriving in town and Boyd moving to -4 -120, Caesars Palace and Wynn Resorts both dropped to -4 shortly after for the first time.
Update - Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018 - 2:00 p.m. ET
When exactly is the big Patriots money going to show up in Las Vegas?
"We saw a lot of Patriots money yesterday," Wynn sports book director John Avello said Wednesday afternoon. "We took a half-million on them yesterday, no, make it three-quarters of a million on them between the point-spread and money-line. We also got a lot more action on the Over as well. We hadn't seen too much on the total yet until yesterday."
Avello hasn't moved the spread despite the action. He's been at -4.5 since Friday after opening -6.5 following the championship games. He also hasn't moved the total off 48 since then. However, he did move the Patriots money-line up to -185/+165.
Despite the Patriots money, things still aren't even yet.
"Oh yeah, we're still high on the Eagles right now, but's it's evening out," Avello said.
The Patriots money is encouraging, but Avello is working his 31st Super Bowl behind the counter in Las Vegas and never assumes or expects anything.
"We've got 90 percent of our action still to come and I can't begin to tell you who we'll need by the time this game kicks off," he said. "I just don't know yet, I could be $2 million high on the Pats by then."
The clientele at Wynn is completely different from the average visitor staying throughout town. Some of these guys flow into town with a few million to get some thrills with and most of the time they don't even care what the number is when betting. These guys were laying -4.5 when they could have laid -4 at multiple bet shops. They did, however, get the best of the money-line. Several books were showing -180.
So what can we expect in the next 36 hours? Has the lowest number flat-lined at -4? Will we see sharper action jump in now on the Pats as it could be the lowest it'll get? This story is going to really heat up on Thursday and Friday as more of these whales start arriving from the long line of private jets streaming into town.
Update - Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018 - 5:00 p.m. ET
A little bit of Super Bowl betting action was happening Tuesday. Boyd Gaming had the first sports books in Las Vegas dropping down to -4 (-110) on Friday and after a full weekend of action they raised the juice on the Eagles to + 4 -115 (Patriots -4 -105).
Going to -3.5 is surely not an option book director Bob Scucci wants to entertain at this juncture, but the rising risk is obviously causing some uneasiness. Scucci has had the best number in two different moves on two separate days and didn't get the Patriots money desired.
The same Super Bowl betting patterns happening in Las Vegas books appear to be going on up north in Reno as well. Philadelphia remains popular.
"It's been steady so far," said Atlantis Reno sports book director Marc Nelson. "Most of the big bets we've taken we're just following the Eagles move."
The Atlantis opened Patriots -6 -105 and a total at 48 just before the conference championship games were over. They dropped to -5.5 two days later and Saturday dropped to -4.5. On Thursday, they attached a small piece of extra juice to the Eagles +4.5 -115 (Patriots -4.5 -105).
"We've had a smattering of some Over money, but we haven't had to get off 48 the entire time," said Nelson, who previously ran books in Las Vegas for most of his 25-year career.
"I don't see this ending up being too big of a decision for us," he said. "I know the Patriots money is eventually coming and we're in good shape with futures."
Nelson admitted he was currently long on the Eagles and asked why anyone would bet the Patriots right now as the number and money-line is dropping. He's not alarmed yet saying that 90 percent of his overall Super Bowl action has yet to arrive.
The Atlantis posted its Super Bowl props on Saturday and a couple of them have stood out with bettors placing limit wagers.
"They bet a lot of 'NO' in whether or not there will be a score in last 2 minutes of the game," Nelson said. "It started at +175 and its all the way down to +115 now. They also liked Jay Ajayi getting Over 1.5 receptions."
Now, as for some bad news for a few bettors that loved the MLB season win total scalps at the Atlantis, which has been posting them first in Nevada for the past decade -- usually in early February. Nelson, who took the director job in early December, said he doesn't want the Atlantis to post the first number any more.
Update - Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018 - 10:45 a.m. ET
There was a whole lot of movement Monday on the Super Bowl 52 odds board with -5 finally making a complete disappearance in Las Vegas, a couple books dropping down to -4 and another taking a $1 million wager on the Eagles money-line.
The Golden Nugget was the last book in town to move to -4.5, and it happened after the Westgate, Boyd Gaming, South Point and Station Casinos all moved the Patriots down to -4. Respected global book [...] also moved to -4 shortly after the South Point did.
William Hill also dropped its money-line down to -180/+160 on Monday thanks to a $1 million wager accepted on the Eagles to win outright at +165. It's the largest bet William Hill has taken for this Super Bowl. Should the Eagles win, the bettor will cash in $2.65 Million.
The Eagles risk is REALLY piling up in Nevada.
The Patriots -180 on the money-line is the lowest in town and offered by the South Point, CG Technology, Wynn Resorts, Golden Nugget, Stratosphere and Station Casinos, along with William Hill.
I'll bet it gets lower. Keep waiting if you want Patriots money-line.
Update - Monday, Jan. 29, 2018 - 12:15 p.m. ET
The Golden Nugget is the last bet shop showing a 5 in Las Vegas for Sunday's Super Bowl which initially opened as a high of Patriots -6.5 last week. Every sports book has gone to -4.5, or -4 (-120) like Boyd Gaming. If you're a late comer to the betting party and want to get maximum value on the Eagles, you might want to hurry downtown.
"The next big hit, I'm moving," Nugget book director Tony Miller said Sunday night. "We're close."
He was still there Monday morning.
Has most of the Eagles money already gotten down? Will we see a flip on who the city needs like two years ago when Carolina was bet heavy for the first 12 days of that Super Bowl season, only to see Broncos money pour in the final two nights of betting.
William Hill's 108 sports books across Nevada were one of the last to make the move to -4.5 on Sunday morning. Three hours later they dropped the total down to 48 after being 48.5 for the past six days. The Golden Nugget, Station Casinos and Stratosphere are the only books sitting at 48.5. Caesars Palace also moved to -4.5 on Sunday afternoon.
Something to talk more about as the final weekend approaches is whether Nevada will set a handle record for the third straight years. Last year was $138.5 million, and reviews are mixed of whether a new record will be set when sports books reviewed the same weekend last season.
"Our handle has been way up this year," said Miller, "Both the game and props."
Jay Rood, the VP at MGM Resorts, also has considerably more handle thanks to the multi-million dollar bet on the Eagles (+5.5) he took Wednesday. South Point sports book director Chris Andrews also said his handle is "definitely" high than last year so far, and so did Jason Simbal from CG Technology books.
However, Westgate SuperBook VP Jay Kornegay wasn't bullish in the first week comparisons, nor was William Hill's top [...] Nick Bogdanovich. So we'll see where this goes. In most cases -- maybe not MGM -- there's still 85 percent of the Super Bowl action to be wagered.
Destination question? Sunscreen or layers of clothes? Where you going this weekend? It's supposed to be a sunny 76 degrees in Las Vegas Sunday. It's 7 degrees with 9 mph winds in Minneapolis on Sunday. There's still rooms available for the best Super Bowl party in the world. Choices range from around $375 per night at the Cosmopolitan or Venetian to cheaper places like $65 a night at the Stratosphere or Circus Circus. Book it if you've never been in town for Super Bowl weekend.
Update - Friday, Jan. 26, 2018 - 2:25 p.m. ET
We've now got six Las Vegas sports books that have dropped their Super Bowl line below Patriots -5 with one, Boyd Gaming, dropping down to -4 -120 early Friday morning. CG Technology books made their move to -4.5 Friday at 10:08 a.m. PT.
"We haven't had any of the huge Eagles bets like some of the other books, but it's been a nice consistent flow of Eagles money building and it was just time to go," said CG's VP of risk management Jason Simbal. "We've got a 2.3-to-1 ticket ratio favoring the Eagles."
Boyd Gaming sports book director Bob Scucci was unavailable for comment on what caused his book to drop to the lowest number in town, but it certainly wasn't an air move. Scucci's a veteran [...] and I'll speculate that it had to be a massive wager for him to jump ahead of the curve in town on the biggest game of the year.
It could even be the same guy who made the multi-million dollar Eagles wager at MGM Resorts. But again, that's just speculation on my part.
How about we take a look from the point of view of books staying at -5, which now consists of Caesars Palace, the Golden Nugget, William Hill, Wynn Resorts and the Stratosphere.
"We opened Patriots at -6 on Sunday night and quickly went to -5.5, which stood until Wednesday when dropped down to -5," said Stratosphere sports book director Ed Malinowski as he was putting the finishing touches on his props. "We've seen mostly Eagles action so far with tickets written at a 2-to-1 ratio and cash taken in at 3-to-1."
Malinowski hasn't reached his threshold for a move yet so he doesn't feel the need to move just because most of the other books have dropped to -4.5. "We do better with the Patriots on our Super Bowl futures, so we're okay with being heavier on the Eagles right now," he said. He also said he believes the number will go back up as Patriots money eventually shows itself in town.
If looking to bet the Patriots, why would you bet it now? You see the number dropping. Maybe it goes to -3.5. Maybe it goes all the way to -3. There's Patriots money out there, but the smart thing to do is wait it out and wait for the books to start feeling their nerves rattle while looking at a seven-figure Eagles risk every day on their bookmaking screen.
"This kind of reminds me of the Mayweather-McGregor fight, staring at large risk and waiting for the favorite money to show up," said Simbal.
The better value for eventual Patriots bettors is to watch the Patriots money-line keep dropping. All the small money will be on the Eagles getting plus-money where 9-to-5 odds multiplies fast. Large Pats money is definitely waiting. However, it's not all small money playing the Eagles money-line.
Large money came on the Eagles money-line with $500,000 wagered on Philly at the South Point Thursday between four different numbers -- +185, +180, +175 and +170. The South Point and Boyd Gaming properties have the lowest Patriots money-line at -180/+160. The best Eagles money-line is at Caesars Palace at +180.
Boyd Gaming's Scucci has also been flirting with the high total of 49 a few times and each time he goes, he gets to his desired threshold he goes back to 48.5.
Update - Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018 - 5:25 p.m. ET
The shock waves from Wednesday's multi-million dollar Eagles (+5.5) wager at MGM Resorts were still buzzing Thursday afternoon at every Las Vegas sports book on both sides of the counter. And in unrelated moves, two other books, the Boyd Gaming locals chain and the Westgate SuperBook, dropped their numbers from Patriots -5 to -4.5.
For SuperBook VP Jay Kornegay, his line adjustment wasn't because of a big wager or even a culmination of heavy cash building on the Eagles.
"We just felt -4.5 was a better number for us right now," he said. "It was a preemptive move for us because we believe we're going to see more Eagles money, especially when we get to the final weekend where we expect the majority of the visitors to be taking the points."
Kornegay said he and his crew talked to several people whose opinion they respect and the Eagles were getting lots of love from them. He said as of Thursday afternoon, only 52 percent of his overall cash on the game is on the Eagles. Also, 5 is a dead number affording him to move the number without being pushed by cash. If it was a key number like -3, moving so quick to -2.5 wouldn't have been an option for him to even consider. Kornegay is simply trying to get to the right number sooner than later.
MGM Resorts has so much Eagles padding in their kitty that they can give bargain prices in an attempt to get all the Patriots action to lessen risk. On Thursday afternoon, they dropped the Patriots from -4.5-flat to -4.5 EVEN, which makes them the cheapest Patriots number in the state. Staring at a few million dollars of Eagles risk on the computer screen gives quite the motivation for offering Patriots discounts. On the same note, MGM's 10 books have the lowest money-line price on the Patriots at -185. The best money-line price on the Eagles is at Caesars Palace offering +180.
Now that we've seen -4.5, when will we see -4? At one chain of books it doesn't look like it'll happen anytime soon.
William Hill's 108 sports books across Nevada, along with its popular phone wagering, give a diverse and unique look at what all sectors of northern and southern Nevada are thinking with their wagers. Surprisingly, after three full days of wagering they've seen 69 percent of all the cash taken on the point spread coming on the Patriots, who they have favored by 5-points. Only 51 percent of the tickets written are slanted to the Eagles.
William Hill Super Bowl 52 Prop Sheet
William Hill opened its props on Thursday afternoon claiming to have 948 ways to be the Super Bowl. Let's just call it 300-plus props covering 14 pages, one page of which has dozens of props involving the Vegas Golden Knights Feb. 4 game at the Washington Capitals. Which will be more? Vegas penalties (+130) or Patriots penalties (-150). There's also more local flavor with their props. Which will be more? UNLV's points at Boise State on Feb. 3 or Rob Gronkowski's receiving yards (-4.5).
The Westgate SuperBook is looking to release 300-plus of their world famous Super Bowl props at 8:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. PT) on Thursday. Kornegay said his crew was still loading the props into the system, but the numbers are all set.
Update - Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018 - 8:15 p.m. ET
The first sonic boom Super Bowl bet heard across Las Vegas took place Wednesday afternoon at MGM Resorts where VP of sports book operations Jay Rood confirmed a multi-million dollar wager was placed on the Eagles at +5.5 causing the chain of 10 books on the Las Vegas strip to bypass -5 altogether and go straight to Patriots -4.5, which is the lowest number in town.
The massive wager give MGM books lots of wiggle room this early to balance things out in the Super Bowl betting season and it's also a signal that a record setting handle could be had in Nevada for the third straight Super Bowl.
Update - Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018 - 5:45 p.m. ET
A couple of Las Vegas sports books made a move on the Super Bowl 52 line from Patriots -5.5 down to -5 as Eagles money has been showing, a move more justified due to respected off-shore book [...] dropping to -4.5 on Tuesday night. The South Point dropped to -5 on Wednesday morning, and CG Technology and Caesars Palace went to -5 on Wednesday afternoon.
Limits are higher now and it takes a lot to move the number, but a popular bookmaking goal is also to get to the right number as soon as possible before the millions in wagers is dropped down. The Westgate Las SuperBook, Boyd Gaming, Wynn Resorts and Stratosphere are all at -5.5 and MGM Resorts is at -5.5 EVEN showing they're long at +5.5 at -110 and -115 with Philly, but they don't want to get off that number anytime soon.
Wynn Resorts sports book director John Avello opened the Patriots -6.5, the highest number in town and found immediate takers.
"That was my number," Avello said Wednesday afternoon. "We opened it really early like when the NFC Championship game was still in the third quarter and we immediately got sharp action with several five-figure wagers. They all made multiple wagers and then I went to -6.5 (-105) and we took another couple bets taking the Eagles, around $20,000 each before going to -5.5."
When Avello was asked if his plan was to get to the right number quickly or just let the money push him, he laughed and said "the only right number is the number after the result is posted."
There's lots of different strategies appled early in the bookmaking game. Eventually, they'll all be pushed to the same number, but Avello believes he'll see more of what he's been seeing already.
"People always love to bet the underdog in the Super Bowl, and there's already lots of people believing the Eagles can win after seeing them win impressively last week," said Avello. "But my concern with the Eagles and why I opened high with the Patriots is the quarterback. Nick Foles is no rookie and he's been around and had some success in the NFL, but this is an entirely new stage for him."
There's definitely some validity to Avello being skeptical of Nick Foles beating Tom Brady as it relates to experience on the biggest stage.
Up north in Reno, where the betting patterns are a little different from Las Vegas, the Atlantis sports book erased the final -6 in the state on Tuesday evening and are currently at -5.5.
The best money-line in town if looking for the Eagles is offered at Wynn Resorts at +190 and the cheapest price on the Patriots is -200 at the Westgate, Station Casinos and Golden Nugget.
"We're getting some nibbles at +190, but we're fine for now," Avello said of his city-best money-line price.
If liking the Eagles to win, you may want to get to the Wynn and get some of that +190 before liability forces a move. If looking to bet the Patriots to win straight up, no points, you may want to hold off a while and wait for it to drop more.
I'll have more Super Bowl updates from Las Vegas Thursday.
Update - Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018 - 3:30 p.m. ET
It's just the beginning of two weeks of Super Bowl hype in Las Vegas, but each day is a blast with something happening around town and I'm here to share some daily tidbits from sports books across the state. The main questions I'll be asking along the way is where the number is going, will a state record for win and handle happen, who will the books eventually be rooting for and who do they want to be rooting for. And then of course, a bunch of other odd Super Bowl nuggets along the way.
After almost two days of wagering, Las Vegas books are sitting steady between the Patriots being -5.5 to -5 after a few opened -6 (South Point) and -6.5 (Wynn Resorts) on Sunday. The largest number currently in the state is up north at Marc Nelson's Atlantis sports book where he's still dealing Patriots -6 -105. However, Nelson gave indication he would be dropping the number soon as he's almost hit his threshold of desired risk at this early juncture. South Point sports book director Chris Andrews likes where he's at right now.
"It's nice having dead numbers on the game," said Andrews, who is now at -5.5. "We opened -6 and I don't think we'll get there again, but I also don't think we'll get down to -4. We're a little high on the plus side (Eagles) right now."
The total is offering bettors plenty to choose from, kind of like a buffet or sorts, something for everyone. If looking to bet Under, the Stratosphere, Station Casinos, William Hill and Boyd Gaming are all set high at 48.5 while the low of 47.5 is at the Westgate SuperBook, CG Technology and MGM Resorts. The four chain of books using 48.5 are all popular local books with the majority of their clients betting Over, so with it being the biggest game of the year they're just prepping for what they expect down the road and are willing to bank larger Under money now for the long haul.
The South Point was sitting right in the middle at 48 with their total, but Andrews raised it to 48.5 during our conversation."It's been all Over so far, and the parlay build-up on both sides to the Over is getting larger by the minute," he said.
Nevada comes off a Super Bowl record $138.5 million handled last season in the Patriots 34-28 overtime win against the Falcons, the second year in a row a state record was set. The books won $10.9 million (7.9 percent) on the game despite the popular favorite (-3) and Over (57) cashing, as well as the all-way, four-way teaser.
The massive amount of props offered around town gave the books so many more ways to win away from just the side and total. A favorite and Over and all-way teaser for any regular isolated game on Sunday or Monday night is a certain huge loss for the books, but bettors spread their allotted bankrolls out with all the fun Super Bowl props which helps the books absorb a public beat down easier.
Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook VP Jay Kornegay is the pioneer for props as we know it in Las Vegas and he offers over 300 props with some involving other sports happening Super Bowl weekend. He says that 60 percent of his overall Super Bowl wagers come from the props, which is the most weighted in the state where most books are now at around 60 percent of overall action still coming on the side and total. By the way, Kornegay says his props will open Thursday night at 5:00 p.m. PT and the must-have prop booklet of sheets stapled together will be available Friday afternoon.
Another reason for Nevada Super Bowl handle setting a record the past two seasons is because almost every book offers in-progress wagering and has phone wagering which keeps the money churning through despite the game starting.
The all-time Nevada record for Super Bowl win happened after the 2014 season when the Seahawks buried the Broncos, 43-8, at a chilly MetLife Stadium. The state wrote a then record $119.4 million and won $19.6 million (16.5 percent hold). A good old fashion blowout is good for business and Denver (-2.5) was a popular wager which translated the same way on props.SUPER BOWL FUTURE RISK
"We would have liked the Vikings to make it because they were our biggest win, but our futures are looking good," said Andrews. "We win a good amount to both teams."
EARLY PROP ACTION
The South Point posted 12 props on Sunday night and immediately got action on a couple of them. "One guy came in and laid $14,000 on NO SAFETY at -700 and then he laid $15,000 on NO OVERTIME at -750. We're at -900 on each now," said Andrews. The first overtime in Super Bowl history happened last season and the safety has made a few appearances in recent years.
SUPER BOWL TRENDS
The favorites always seemed to win and cover going 20-10-1 against the spread in the first 31 Super Bowls. The 1980s were brutal blowouts with the AFC taking a beating, but something happened when the Broncos finally won a Super Bowl as 11-point underdogs against the Packers after the 1998 season. It changed the tide.
Underdogs have now gone 12-4 ATS in the last 16 Super Bowls, starting with the Patriots 20-17 win against the Rams as 14-point dogs after the 2002 season. The underdog has won seven of the past 10 Super Bowls outright, including two wins by the Giants over the Patriots.
Two of the past three Super Bowls have seen all-way teasers cash -- both sides, both totals. We can count on good games in the Super Bowl now and the NFL spread is the most sound rating of any sport which means getting six-points to the side and total offers nice value on a two-teamer. The Patriots six-point overtime win last season was their largest margin of victory in five Super Bowl wins engineered by Brady and Bill Belichick.
ROB GRONKOWSKI WORTH?
The Jaguars had the Patriots exactly where they wanted them in Sunday's AFC Championship and got a bonus when Tom Brady's go-to tight-end got a concussion and missed the second half. That's Brady's crutch, and it if weren't for some horrendous fourth-quarter play-calling and clock management, we'd be talking about the Jags right now in their first Super Bowl. With two weeks before game time, we all expect Gronkowski to play in the Super Bowl, but his worth is up to 1.5-points. If for whatever reason he can't play there will be rapid adjustments on the number all over the state.
SOUTH POINT SUPER BOWL PARTIES
The South Point has two massive parties planned upstairs in their banquet area, one in their Showroom and then they have hundreds of seats inside their sports book and lounge. They also have two extra-large bars seating up to a hundred people each and another lounge by the race book that can accommodate another 200 partiers. There's a little something for everyone and it's a great place to hang out for a few hours for the other amenities where owner Michael Gaughan doesn't gouge his guests. He gives his customers cheap beer prices and great food on the cheap in all of his restaurants.
Something to also keep an eye out for is who is writing your bet ticket when going to the counter. It's not unusual to see the owner, Michael Gaughan himself punching tickets, or his sons, one of which is NASCAR driver Brendan Gaughan who will be driving in the Daytona 500 again this season. With all the parties located around the casino and bet stations placed within, the sports book labor gets a little thin so it's all hands on deck.
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