Las Vegas Pulls Out Small Win On Nearly 116 Million Wagered On Super Bowl

While the $115.9 million bet on Patriots-Seahawks marks the state’s second-largest handle ever for a Super Bowl, the hold percentage of 2.8 is the lowest since the books won just $724,176 on Super Bowl XLVI in 2011, when the Packers beat the Steelers 31-25.

Tom Brady’s touchdown pass to Julian Edelman was good for most public bettors and bad for bookmakers. The public loves playing the OVER, and the late fourth-quarter score put the game OVER the total, which was between 47 and 47.5.

Also, while betting on the side was pretty balanced, most books had more liability on the Patriots and needed a Seahawks win – so Malcolm Butler’s game-seeling interception on the New England goal line was a swing worth millions to Vegas. The point spread was a pick ‘em at most gambling venues.

The Patriots/OVER parlay was the worst-case scenario for the majority of bet shops, and worsening the blow was the fact that all four possible two-way teasers cashed for bettors. With teasers, a bettor is able to move the line 6 points in his direction but must hit both parts of the bet for it to be a winner. In the case of New England’s 28-24 win, all four possibilities – Patriots/OVER, Patriots/UNDER, Seahawks/OVER, Seahawks/UNDER – won.

Prop betting has become a large percentage of the overall Super Bowl handle and, in fact, pushed the books into profitability on Sunday.

“We did okay, but if this was 1985 without the props, we’d be having a rough day," Bert Osborne, sports book director at the South Point told The Linemakers on Sporting News on Sunday.

Added the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook’s Jay Kornegay, “Without props, it would have been a bad day.”

Still, a win’s a win, and – while not a record – the nearly $116 million bet on the game means the interest in gambling on pro football is as healthy as ever.

Here’s a year-by-year look at Nevada’s Super Bowl handle and win since 1991.