A Las Vegas bettor who placed multiple six-figure futures wagers on the Seattle Seahawks before the season is now on the verge of a massive payday. The unidentified gambler bet $50,000 at BetMGM in August on Seattle to win the Super Bowl at 60-1 odds, which would return $3 million, and another $50,000 on the Seahawks to win the NFC at 28-1, worth $1.4 million. At Circa Sports, the same bettor wagered mid-five figures on Seattle to win the Super Bowl at 75-1, making the Seahawks the biggest liability for both books.
Seattle has already cashed tickets to make the playoffs and win the NFC West. Now, with the Seahawks hosting the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday’s NFC championship game as 2½-point favorites, the books are sweating. ‘The Seahawks are absolutely still the biggest liability, by far,’ said MGM Resorts director of trading Lamarr Mitchell.
Circa Sports vice president of operations Mike Palm detailed the exposure: ‘As we stand, we lose a million to the Seahawks winning the NFC, and we lose $1.4 million to them winning the Super Bowl.’ He added that the bettor also wagered on Seattle to make the playoffs and win the division, which have already been paid out, but called the remaining two bets ‘the two big numbers.’
Other books have different exposures. The Rams are the biggest liability at the Westgate SuperBook and Boomer’s Sportsbook, while the Denver Broncos are the only liability at STN Sports and the largest at Caesars Sportsbook. The Seahawks, conversely, are the smallest liability at Caesars. ‘We knocked out our worst futures position on the 49ers,’ said Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray, referring to Seattle’s 41-6 divisional-round win over San Francisco. ‘We’ll be big Seattle fans this week. We’re in a much better future position on Seattle than we are on the Rams.’
The Rams, who were 30-1 at the Westgate and 20-1 in late August when quarterback Matthew Stafford’s back issues made his status uncertain, are now the +230 second choice to win Super Bowl 60. Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito called them ‘the best team left in the playoffs.’ The New England Patriots, 80-1 preseason long shots at BetMGM, are +275 third choice and 4½-point road favorites over the Broncos in the AFC championship game. Denver, a 25-1 preseason bet, is now 13-1 at BetMGM.
Circa would win mid-six figures if the Patriots or Rams win the Super Bowl. ‘The Seahawks are the only bomb,’ Palm said. ‘The Patriots or Rams would be terrific for the Super Bowl. We’re big Rams fans.’
