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March 29, 2024

Super Bowl XLV:

Las Vegas gamblers line up for Super Bowl prop bets

The Hilton posted its 300+ proposition wagers to the betting board Thursday evening

Super Propositions

Steve Marcus

Gamblers look over a board of proposition bets at the Race and Sports Book in the Las Vegas Hilton Thursday, January 27, 2011. Proposition bets for Super Bowl XLV were posted on the board at the sports book Thursday afternoon.

Updated Friday, Jan. 28, 2011 | 9:09 a.m.

Super Propositions

Gamblers consider proposition bets on Super Bowl XLV at the Race and Sports Book in the Las Vegas Hilton Thursday, January 27, 2011. Proposition bets for the Super Bowl were posted on the board at the sports book Thursday afternoon. Launch slideshow »

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Here are some of the odds on prop bets at the Hilton as of Thursday:

Who will have more points: Miami Heat’s LeBron James -7.5 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Who will have more: Big 10 basketball teams’ points on Sunday -40.5 vs. Green Bay Packers yards

Who will have more: Los Angeles Clippers Blake Griffin rebounds vs. Pittsburgh and Green Bay combined second quarter points

Different Packers with Rushing Attempt: Over/Under 4

Distance of the first punt: Over/Under 44.5

Pass yards by Aaron Rodgers: Over/Under 270.5

Tackles by Troy Polamalu: Over/Under 4.5

More Penalty Yards: Pittsburgh -165 (risking $1.65 to win $1) vs. Green Bay +145 (risking $1 to win $1.45)

First Turnover: Interception -155 (risking $1.55 to win $1) vs. Fumble +145 (risking $1 to win $1.35)

Player to score touchdown first: Rashard Mendenhall -140 (risking $1.40 to win $1) vs. Greg Jennings +120 (risking $1 to win $1.20)

A series of red, green and yellow words cascading down a digital board at the Las Vegas Hilton Superbook signaled the official start of the Super Bowl prop-betting season Thursday evening.

The Hilton unveiled more than 300 propositional wagers for Super Bowl XLV between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers in what is annually one of the most significant events of the sports-betting year in Las Vegas.

“This is excellent,” said recreational bettor Dan Soline, a Chicago native who lives in Las Vegas during the winter. “Most of the other places have props, but not as many as here and they aren’t as interesting.”

Jay Kornegay, the Las Vegas Hilton Superbook director, and his staff supply a large betting menu every year for the Super Bowl.

Players can bet on things as simple as heads or tails at the coin toss or as complicated as whether there will be more sacks in the Super Bowl or shots on goal by Washington Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin in his team’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ovechkin is posted as a 0.5-point favorite.

“You want ones that stir interest, but ultimately it’s whether or not it gets money across the counter,” Kornegay said. “There’s nothing more disappointing than doing a half-hour’s worth of work on a prop and have no one bet on it.”

That didn’t appear to be a problem Thursday. A congregation of about 25 professional bettors were on hand, including Steve Fezzik, who won the Las Vegas Hilton Supercontest in both 2008 and 2009. Many of them lined up at a $1,000-minimum window continually for at least an hour trying to get the best possible number on the props.

The Hilton, of course, isn’t the only sports book to offer props, and nearly every shop in Las Vegas will have its full slate released by today. Sports book directors are convinced public bettors will swarm to Super Bowl props more than ever before this year.

Jimmy Vaccaro, director of Lucky’s sports books, said it was because the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers are two of the most popular teams in the NFL and always attract major betting volume.

“You need marquee names to help push these props, and this matchup has that,” he said after the conference championship games Sunday. “People know these guys and that’s going to draw a lot of players. It won’t be hard for people to find something they like to bet on.”

Bets involving the quarterbacks, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, forecast to be some of the most popular. The Hilton favors Rodgers by 30.5 yards and 0.5 touchdowns over Roethlisberger.

Bettors also enjoy taking “yes” on props asking whether something will happen in the game. Last year, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Lance Moore made sports book directors unhappy when he caught a two-point conversion pass from quarterback Drew Brees.

Many bettors beat the books by wagering “yes” on a prop asking if there would be a two-point conversion at a price of +400 (risking $1 to win $4). If a safety or overtime ever occurs in a Super Bowl, the books would endure a similar loss.

“When things like that happen, it’s bad for us,” Kornegay said. “Those are the types of things people like to bet.”

Super Bowl prop betting was around before Kornegay, but he and his team revolutionized it while at the Imperial Palace in the 1990s.

They started offering more props because the games were annual blowouts, with no Super Bowl being decided by less than double digits from 1992 to 1997.

“The games were boring,” Kornegay said. “They were over by the third quarter and people were disinterested. We expanded the betting menu to account for that and just kept adding to it every year.”

There are approximately 20 times more props to bet on now than when Kornegay and his team started posting them 15 years ago. Props currently account for about 50 percent of the Hilton’s Super Bowl betting handle.

Kornegay expects both numbers to continue increasing.

“We could always have a handful more,” Kornegay said. “It’s really not that hard to come up with them. We could keep doing them forever. We’ve narrowed it down to an art form now. I think it’s a huge part of coming to Las Vegas now for the Super Bowl and betting propositions.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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