Columnist Jeff Haney: Money lines played role in Super Bowl results

Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2002 | 9:45 a.m.

Jeff Haney's sports betting column appears Wednesday. He can be reached at haney@lasvegassun.com or call (702) 259-4041.

The state's sports books won $2.3 million on the Super Bowl this year, the lowest figure in four years, according to the State Gaming Control Board.

It's likely that money line wagers on the Patriots played a pivotal role in that outcome.

Bookmakers have hinted that there was plenty of money line action on the Patriots -- which is surprising, considering that the money line on this year's Super Bowl was inordinately low.

The money line -- a wager in which bettors pick the winner of the game straight up, with no point spread -- varied by casino Sunday in Las Vegas, but was generally around minus 600/plus 400. That is, bettors could get plus 400 the Patriots would win the game or lay 600 that the Rams would win outright.

As handicapper Charles Jay noted, those numbers were artificially low for a game with a point spread of 14 points.

"With a point spread like this, it would be very easy for the money line to get out of control," Jay pointed out. "But here it works to (a Rams backer's) advantage, because the money line isn't necessarily reflective of the point spread.

"Customarily, when a team is favored by 14 points in a game, the money line might be minus 750 or more on the favorite. But (anyone who likes the Rams) can do better than that."

Jay, of the Total Action website (totalaction.com), happened to think betting the "under" was the way to go in this Super Bowl.

But he also noted that big professional bettors would be much more likely to take the plunge on the St. Louis money line than the New England money line because of the implied value.

It's unlikely many professional gamblers put much on the New England money line because the numbers were so out of whack -- probably because of the heavy action from casual bettors that the Super Bowl draws.

During the regular season, many casinos don't bother offering a money line on NFL games once the point spread gets too high -- say, into the double digits.

Another point of interest: The money line on the Patriots was as high as plus 650 at the Stratosphere and Arizona Charlie's properties -- an anomaly that could have set up "middling" situations for bettors who shopped aggressively.

One gambler told his tale of woe to the staff at the Gambler's Book Shop.

After betting $150 on "there will be overtime" at plus 2000, our hero was practically counting his $3,000 until a series of unlikely plays KO'd his chances -- a sequence that concluded with Adam Vinatieri's game-winning field goal.

Ouch.

Howard Schwartz, marketing director at the Gambler's Book Shop (630 S. 11th St.), said the story has a poignant postscript.

"The sad thing is, he made the bet because he had a losing season in the NFL, and he wanted to make it all back in one swoop," Schwartz said.

The numbers were issued last week in order to give visitors who were in town for this year's Super Bowl an opportunity to wager on next year's game.

The Patriots opened at 12-1 to repeat, although that line has been adjusted to 10-1.

The Rams are favored at 5-2, followed by the Steelers at 6-1 and the Eagles at 8-1. The expansion Houston Texans are the longest shot on the board at 200-1.com