Week 9 was another good one for sportsbooks and a tough one in general for the betting public, as underdogs went 7-5 with one pick ’em through Sunday night.
The biggest win at multiple books was on the Carolina Panthers covering the 10-point spread in Kansas City. The Chiefs won, 33-31, but didn’t cover, in the most-bet game at BetRivers and SugarHouse sportsbooks. The result was huge for sportsbooks as it ruined all the teasers (down from -10) on the Chiefs.
“Having the Panthers knock down Chiefs teasers was the best-case scenario for us,” said Chuck Esposito, sportsbook director at Station Casino.
Another giant decision in favor of sportsbooks was the Bills (+3) winning outright, 44-34, over the Seattle Seahawks. It was the biggest decision of the early window for Station Casinos, and more than
85 percent of bets at William Hill and PointsBet sportsbooks were on Seattle.
One bettor at PointsBet wagered $500 per point on the Bills (+1.5), and set a max win/loss at $10,000. With the Bills winning by 10 points, the bettor won $5,750. The Borgata took a $110,000 wager on the Bills +7 in the second half, which cashed. There was a $100,000 wager on the Seahawks -3 at BetMGM, which lost.
“We had more straight, parlay and ML [moneyline] action on the Seahawks than any other game,” Esposito said. “Some huge five-figure ML parlays were all tied to Seattle.”
Two other big wins for books in the late window were the Pittsburgh Steelers (-14) winning 24-19 but not covering against the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins (+4) winning outright 34-31 over the Arizona Cardinals. More than 88 percent of the bets and 93 percent of the spread handle at William Hill US books backed the Steelers, and Dallas knocked out Pittsburgh teasers, as well. There was late steam on the Cardinals, as the line moved from up to Arizona -6 on Sunday. One BetMGM bettor lost a $160K, 6.5-point teaser at on the Cardinals -1.5 and Washington Football Team +3.
One William Hill bettor was happy to see the Steelers win, as it closed out the last leg of a $4,000 seven-leg college football and NFL parlay. The bettor won more than $438,000. Here were the legs: Liberty +500, Maryland +1200, Appalachian State -1100, Oklahoma -15000, Iowa State -600, Ohio State -15000, Steelers -1000.
The worst result of the day for sportsbooks was the Baltimore Ravens (pick ’em) beating the Indianapolis Colts, 24-10. Public bettors were all over Baltimore, while respected money showed up on Indianapolis, pushing the Colts from a 3-point underdog to a 1-point favorite on Sunday morning, before the line closed at pick ’em. The game was the worst loss of the day for PointsBet. More than 89 percent of moneyline bets and 78 percent of spread bets at BetRivers sportsbooks were on Baltimore.
Bettors did well on the Las Vegas Raiders (-1) escaping with a 31-26 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, as a touchdown scored as time expired was overturned by replay. The game was the second-biggest loss for PointsBet books.
“Both sharps and the pubic were on the Raiders as the favorite flipped,” Esposito said. “We also needed the Raiders-Chargers Under, which went sailing over. We did well on the Dolphins winning outright and the Cowboys covering the big number and [knocking out] teasers.”
The Saints (+3) won 38-3 in the Sunday night game over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leading to another big loss for the public. However, there was one big winner, as a BetMGM bettor wagered $500,000 on the Saints +155 on the moneyline and won $775,000.
