Wondering what’s
going on at the sportsbooks a few days before the Super Bowl?
Covers.com checked in with a couple books to see what their handle’s
been so far and what they are expecting in the coming days.
What’s the action been like so far? Are you seeing increased betting as we get closer to Sunday?
Bill Nevin, BetUSA.com oddsmaker: I
would say 95 percent of the action is on the day. Generally the only
people betting now are sharps or people who are going to be away from
their computers or phones at the weekend. Most people only start to
think about a Super Bowl wager at about lunchtime on Sunday.
Ken White, Part-owner of Las Vegas Sports Consultants: So
far so good, the early wagering has been about average. But we can
expect about 80 percent of the overall handle to be wagered on Super
Bowl weekend.
Francis Doyle, Sportsinteraction.com oddsmaker: The action has been fantastic. A team going for the first perfect season since 1972 against a team from the biggest city in the USA. What’s not to like there?
Where’s most of the action coming in on, the points or the chalk, over or under?
Randy Scott, Sportsbook Manager, BetEd.com: The early action has been based on the pointspread. When the line opened at -13 the early bettors came in heavy on New York and there was only light betting on the New England side. That made the line drop to -12 ½ , then -12 and now -11 ½. This week is different, New England
bettors are beginning to get down - and with confidence. The per-bet
volume ratio for this game is 2:1 in favor of the Giants, yet the bet
amount per-side is almost even - that means Patriots backers are
betting more money.
Bill Nevin: All the early money was for the Giants but as the week has gone on the support has all been for the Pats. At 10 a.m. today 81 percent of the pointspread wagers are on New England -12, and 56 percent of the cash has been on the over.
Ken White: All
of the early wagering has been professional money on the New York
Giants. The injury news concerning Tom Brady led professionals to take
an early lead. Most professionals are siding against a slight inflated
line for the Patriots anyway, so the news of Brady in a walking boot
pushed the sharp money the window. Early total action was on the under,
however since this past weekend more money has shown up for the over
creating balance action.
Francis Doyle: The
line was set high initially on the basis that squares would eat up the
chalk. This has not happened, and the Giants are proving quite a
popular pick. Even the general sports media are giving the Giants far
more of a chance than they gave the Patriots themselves against the
Rams six years ago. People believe in the Giants. So far.
How much action are you expecting for game day?
Randy Scott: Sunday will draw 50 percent of the overall expected action. Meaning our action will double in volume on that day.
Bill Nevin: We expect to be up about 10 percent on last year. It’s not a total glamour tie but it’s good to have New York
represented as it boosts handle. It is always best when it is two big
city teams in terms of handle, but I think this is an interesting
matchup so the handle will be reasonable.
Ken White: I expect the State of Nevada will surpass the record handle of 94.5 billion.
Do you think the line will hold firm until kickoff? If not, which way might it move and why would that be?
Randy Scott: I
think we'll see a steady increase in action stay on the Patriots as the
weekend approaches. That should raise the line back up to the opening
number, maybe more come Super Bowl Sunday.
Bill Nevin: Twelve
seems like a pretty solid line unless there is any injury news. Our
linesmakers would be reluctant to move off that unless the public
became really caught up with the Pats.
Ken White:
With Tom Brady looking more like himself and general public money
outweighing professional money on game day, the line will go back up to
13 or 13 1/2.
Francis Doyle: We’re
expecting action all the way to the kickoff and beyond, but we expect
the line to hold steady. We’ll be doing live betting during the game
which we expect to be popular too.