Hugh Citron, a veteran Las Vegas bookmaker, had a decision to make. The Stratosphere sportsbook was lopsided on the Arizona Cardinals.
Arizona was a 7-point favorite over the visiting St. Louis Rams, and everyone was on the Cardinals.
Nine times more money had been bet on the Cardinals than the Rams. For every one parlay card that included the Rams, there were 20 cards with Arizona. Every teaser and every moneyline parlay had the Cardinals, too, Citron said.
He could have moved the point spread to Arizona -7.5 to attract some money on the underdog Rams and even out the book a little bit. Instead, he held tight and gambled.
"Who do you want to gamble against?" Citron asked. "Do you want to go to 7.5 against a sharp getting a good number on you? Or would you rather just gamble against the public, which has been a good scenario for the books for the last 30 or 40 years? I'd much rather in the long run gamble against the public than the guys I know play sharp numbers." It ended up being the right move. The Rams upset the Cardinals 24-22, turning a potential losing Sunday into "a very good day" for the Stratosphere.
The Westgate SuperBook, CG Technology, MGM, Station Casinos and William Hill all pointed to the Rams as their primary catalyst to a turnaround Sunday for the books, which had lost two of the past three weeks in the NFL.
"Overall, a good day for the books," said Chuck Esposito, Station's sportsbook director. The Oakland Raiders, favored for the first time in 27 games, were a popular bet in Las Vegas. At William Hill, 86 percent of the money was on the Raiders versus the Chicago Bears. The Bears won 22-20, producing another of the books' biggest wins. Caesars sportsbook director Leon Bismarck said Washington's upset of the Philadelphia Eagles produced his shop's biggest win on a profitable Sunday.
The New York Jets started the day off on a winning note for bettors from Las Vegas to the United Kingdom. The Jets won and covered in a 27-14 win over the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium in London. At U.K. sportsbook giant Ladbrokes, the game attracted 25 percent more action than any of the other NFL games that have been played at Wembley Stadium. At William Hill's U.K. sportsbook, twice as much money was bet on the Jets as the Dolphins, according to spokesman Joe Crilly.
The pro-Jets action was similar in Las Vegas.
"I woke up in the morning losing money, because everybody bet the Jets," CG Technology vice president of race and sports Jason Simbal said.
Heading into the afternoon slate of games, MGM vice president of race and sports Jay Rood said his shop was facing a second straight losing Sunday, unless the Rams or the San Francisco 49ers were able to pull off outright upsets.
"If all the teasers [had come] in on those games, it [would've been] like losing an additional fourth or fifth game," Rood said.
The Rams obliged, knocking off the favored Cardinals 24-22.
"That wiped out every parlay, every teaser, wiped it all," Citron said.
College football report
Saturday produced mixed results for the books.
A bettor at CG Technology hit a $300 eight-team parlay that featured the Alabama money line and the over in the Texas Tech-Baylor game. It paid $70,000, according to Simbal.
"That screwed our day up," Simbal said.
The Texas Tech-Baylor total closed as high as 91 in some sportsbooks. It's the largest college football over/under since at least 1990, according to ESPN's Phil Steele, and likely ever. But it didn't stop bettors from taking the over. Seventy percent of the money was on the over at William Hill, according to director of marketing Michael Grodsky. The biggest bet William Hill took on the under was a $1,100. It was worse at the MGM.
"We had a couple in-house guys playing (the over) at $10,000 and $20,000 a pop," the MGM's Rood said. "We kept moving it up on them, but couldn't make it high enough. The money was like 9-1 on the over. We lost on (college) totals and that was probably 100 percent of our loss. We would have broken even (on totals) if it wasn't for that."
Ed Salmons, oddsmaker at the SuperBook, said Baylor over/unders are always causing problems.
"We've yet to reach a total on a Baylor game that the public is not willing to bet over. And they get rewarded for it for the most part," Salmons said. "The wiseguys will constantly bet under. And the public will constantly bet over." Baylor is 29-13 over/under since 2012, including 4-0 this season.
Alabama, an underdog for the first time in 72 games, was heavily backed by the public against Georgia. CG Technology had been long on the Crimson Tide all week, but evened out right before kickoff when a mid-five figure bet came in on Georgia. Three times more money was bet on the Crimson Tide than Georgia at the MGM. Alabama delivered for bettors with a dominating 38-10 win, sending the MGM to a losing day.
"We were never in it," said Rood. "We were down after the morning game and never recovered."
Arizona State upsetting UCLA produced the biggest win of Saturday for most books. The Pac-12 matchup produced more betting action than any other game at CG Technology. And almost everyone backed the Bruins.
Salmons said 90 percent of the money was on the favored Bruins at his shop. The Sun Devils won 38-23 as 13-point underdogs.
"You could get money (on Arizona State) if you moved the line, if you went 14, but we just chose to stay at 13," Salmons said.
It was another good decision for the books on a winning weekend.
New hedge option in Vegas
One thing that caught our eye: An intriguing secondary sports betting market has emerged in Las Vegas that may make locking in profits on futures bets more efficient, thanks to two young entrepreneurs at Prop Swap.
Prop Swap allows bettors to buy and sell pending wagers that were placed at Nevada sportsbooks.
One example:
• On Sunday, a day after the Florida Gators upset the Ole Miss Rebels, a ProSwap client purchased a ticket on the Gators to win the SEC Championship Game for $200 at 14.5-1 odds. The original bet was $100 at 30-1 odds.
The market is only two months old, but is gaining traction. In addition to futures, parlays that were halfway home have been listed for sale on Prop Swap and even individual game tickets. We'll more on this company in the weeks to come.