Chicago is a seven-point underdog in the Super Bowl, but the city is an overwhelming favorite with bookmakers, who think Bears fans will help push betting on the big game to record levels.
Nevada casinos and Internet wagering sites are counting on a combination of a nationwide fan base, an intriguing match-up between the Bears’ stout defense and the Colts’ jet-powered offense and the fervor that comes from a big city starved for a football championship.
Super Bowl betting, though, isn’t just a matter of whether the Bears will win or lose: People can gamble on everything from how many rushing yards Thomas Jones will gain to how long it will take Billy Joel to sing the national anthem.
Still, most money goes toward the outcome of the game, and high rollers already have begun to put down six-figure bets.
Though the majority of the wagers won’t come until the weekend, the heaviest cash so far is on the Bears’ side of the ledger, said Robert Walker, sports book director for the MGM Mirage casinos.
“Chicago is a very popular team, a huge city, with a storied program,” he said. “They’re just one of those franchises that when they get to the big game, they’re going to enhance it.”
Though experts estimate that the NCAA men’s basketball tournament has become the nation’s biggest overall gambling event, the Super Bowl remains by far the largest single game for wagering.
Casinos in Nevada – one of the few states in which sports betting is legal – took in $94 million last Super Bowl, and expect to top $100 million this year.
Frank Streshley, senior analyst for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, said the strengthening economy of the last few years has been chiefly responsible for the increased wagering, but that the teams playing also makes a difference.
“The Colts and the Bears have a large base of fans – especially Chicago,” he said.
Chuck Esposito, a native of the northwest Chicago suburbs who helps run the sports book at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, said Chicago fans seem more willing than others to put their money where their hearts are.
Before the football season begins each year, he said, more people pick the Bears to win the championship than any other team, regardless of how the squad is shaping up (the same is true with the Cubs). They were at 12-to-1 odds for this season, so an optimistic fan who put down $100 a year ago would collect $1,200 with a victory Sunday.
Esposito said most of his colleagues rooted for the Bears and the Colts during the playoffs, figuring that matchup would spur the most action.
“You have offense against defense, two of the most popular players with (Colts quarterback) Peyton Manning and (Bears linebacker) Brian Urlacher,” he said. “It’s just a dream matchup for the viewing public – a dream matchup for the betting public, too.”
Some Internet-based casinos also foresee a big day. Calvin Ayre of Antigua-based Bodog.com, which takes wagers from all over the globe, said through a spokesman that betting on the Super Bowl probably would be second only to last year’s World Cup soccer championship.
Internet gambling is not legal in the United States – credit-card companies and banks are prohibited from processing online wagering transactions – and Ayre said his company no longer markets to the country. But BetUS.com, a site based in Costa Rica, still accepts American wagers.
Spokesman Reed Richards wouldn’t comment on how American gamblers are placing their bets. Richards did say, though, that bets coming from Chicago and Indianapolis are split almost 50-50, reflecting an enthusiasm that he believed would drive the 10-year-old site to a record day.
“You’re seeing two teams that haven’t made an appearance in quite some time,” he said. “There’s a little bit classic Americana being played there. It’s nice to see a break from teams like the Patriots.”
Chicago area bookies might be in for a windfall of their own, even though they tend to set firm limits on what their customers can bet, said FBI spokesman Ross Rice.
“They don’t want them to get down too far (so they) won’t be able to pay,” he said.
“A new player, someone who bets (only) for the Super Bowl, will have a small limit.”
Jay Kornegay, executive director of race and sports at the Las Vegas Hilton, said half of his business will come from proposition bets, side wagers on everything from the total number of punts in the game, to who wins the coin toss, to whether Rex Grossman will throw a touchdown or an interception first. (Oddsmakers say a pick is more likely.)
“Even though it might seem like a routine play, we know you can hear little groans or applause because some player just went over seven yards,” he said.
Alan Palmer, who trades grains and metals at the Chicago Board of Trade, said some of his colleagues are going wild over the game, putting down as much as $10,000.
And even though he rarely bets on sports, he said a small win on Sunday would be far sweeter than any big victory in the trading pits.
“I’m taking the Bears at seven (points), come on!” he said.
Source: Daily Press