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You probably won’t be shocked to learn sportsbooks in Nevada posted a profit thanks to the Super Bowl, but they didn’t rake in as much cash as they could have if the game hadn’t gone into overtime.
One of the most entertaining aspects of the Super Bowl is the many, many prop bets you can take advantage of.
On any other day of the year, it might seem foolish to get literally and figuratively invested in the length of the national anthem, the outcome of the coin toss, or the color of the Gatorade that gets dumped on a coach, but it’s par for the course on that Sunday.
There were also plenty of bets that had a bit more to do with what transpired on the gridiron, like the possibility of a safety, someone returning a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown, or a guy who doesn’t play quarterback throwing a touchdown (the last of which earned one bettor a very hefty sum courtesy of Jauan Jennings).
The 49ers headed into the contest as 2-point favorites over the Chiefs, and the fact that it was expected to be a close game probably persuaded some people to throw down some cash on a wager that tasked bettors to predict whether or not the game would go into overtime.
That play seemed like a bit of a gamble when you consider only one Super Bowl (the game where the Patriots capped off their 28-3 comeback against the Falcons) had previously needed OT to be decided, but as you probably know, San Francisco and Kansas City needed an extra frame to settle things.
According to ESPN, that was a somewhat costly development for Caesars Sportsbook, which told the outlet it “produced the biggest loss of any of the thousands of prop bets it offered” thanks to the 10-1 odds that were posted.
With that said, sportsbooks in the state of Nevada still did pretty well for themselves after garnering a record-high $185.6 million in Super Bowl wagers while netting a cumulative $6.8 million when everything was said and done.