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Vegas Sports Books Deem Clemson’s Upset Last Night ‘As
In one of the biggest bet games in college football history, Vegas’ most notable sports books got mushroom stamped.
Deshaun Watson’s last second touchdown to walk-on Hunter Renfroe to beat a previously unbeaten Alabama translated to high six-figure losses for Nevada sports books like the Wynn and the MGM Resorts, according to CBS Sports. It cost William Hill a seven-figure loss and was the “single worst loss on any game ever” for the company, as it was also the most bet on college football game in William Hill’s history.
William Hill director of trading Nick Bogdanovich didn’t mince words when he declared it “as bad a result as humanly possible,” according to ESPN.
Bettors began throwing money on Clemson, who closed as a consensus 6-point underdog to Alabama, after they blasted Ohio State 31-0 in the Fiesta Bowl. At the Westgate SuperBook, out of the first $11,020 that was wagered on the national championship game’s money line, $11,000 of it was on Clemson. This left all twelve of the sports books in Vegas and the Caribbean rooting for Bama.
“It was one of the worst college football losses we’ve ever had, definitely one of the top three,” said MGM sports book manager Jeff Stoneback. He continued, “The handle [total amount bet] was phenomenal. We handled more on that game than any two of the NFL wild-card games combined.” The handle was up eight percent this year from last year’s Clemson/Bama championship game.
For those who pocketed some cash from last night’s game and defied ‘the house always wins’ manta, hats off to you. Also, I got Venmo.