Las Vegas sportsbooks are hoping for a New England Patriots cover in Super Bowl 60, as the betting public has overwhelmingly backed the Seattle Seahawks as 4½-point favorites. With kickoff approaching, nearly 75 percent of tickets at multiple books are on Seattle.
“Unless there’s a miracle, we’ll definitely need the Patriots pretty good,” said Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading at Boomer’s Sportsbook, where 75 percent of money wagered is on the Seahawks.
A sharp bettor did place a $788,000 wager on New England +4½ at BetMGM early in the week, but since then the action has been almost entirely Seahawks. “Everyone’s laying the 4½,” said Lamarr Mitchell, MGM Resorts director of trading. “Outside of a couple early bets from our sharps on the Patriots, everything has pretty much been Seahawks, Seahawks, Seahawks.”
The Westgate, STN Sports, and Boomer’s all report 65 percent of tickets on Seattle. At Caesars Sportsbook, 68 percent of money against the spread is on the Seahawks, including a $152,000 money-line bet at -230 on Saturday.
“If New England were to win, we’d have a great day,” said John Murray, Westgate vice president of race and sports.
The South Point and STN Sports briefly moved the line to 4½ after opening at 5. “We’ve been mostly at 5,” said South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews. “It’s been all Seattle — not all Seattle — but a large amount on Seattle.”
Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito noted a six-figure wager on the Patriots money line at +205 that pushed the line back to 4½. “Right now, the best-case scenario would be the ’Hawks winning by 1, 2, 3 or 4. The worst case would be Seahawks cover and over.”
The total is 45½ at most books, with Circa at 45. Sharp money has been on the under, but the public is driving the over with parlays. “We continue to see larger wagers on the under,” Esposito said.
Bogdanovich expects more action on Sunday. “Hopefully some Patriots money shows up. If not, we’ll roll with Drake Maye and Co.”
