As predicted, legal betting on the Super Bowl exploded to a new high as more than $185 million in bets poured into sportsbooks in Las Vegas ahead of the game.
Vegas betting outlets saw $185.6 million in bets made before the NFL’s championship game, shattering the previous $179,8 million record, the New York Post reported.
Despite the big total, though, it appears that “the house” did not come up the winner this year. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Vegas sportsbooks only won $6.8 million of that $186.6 million, only about 3.7 percent of the total.
The betting line and some of the nearly 400 proposition bets for Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos are displayed at the Race & Sports SuperBook at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino on February 2, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Super Bowl 58 will be one of the few Super Bowls that Vegas gambling establishments did not end up as the big winner. Indeed, Vegas has only ended up on the short end two other times since 1991, the paper added.
“Chiefs and OT were very disappointing, said Circa Sportsbook Director of Operations Jeffrey Benson, according to Fox Sports. “However, as always, the lights will come on in the morning. Nobody, including my own mother, feels bad when the house loses,” Benson added.
Unfortunately for the sportsbooks, most betters favored the Chiefs in OT. And, as we know, they got that prediction right. The much-predicted outcome sent sportsbooks to their cash box repeatedly to pay up to their customers.
Wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr. #12 and quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrate after they connected on a game-winning touchdown in overtime against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“Tough day for us with the Chiefs’ comeback,” added John Murray, executive director of The SuperBook. “The game going into OT was costly in a lot of ways, and, of course, we wanted the 49ers to win.”
The game was already breaking betting records a week before it was played, with sportsbooks reporting a massive $23.1 billion in betting across the country.
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