Minutes after beating Baltimore 17-10 on Sunday to clinch a spot in the Super Bowl, Travis Kelce had a message to send. “The Chiefs are still the Chiefs,” Kelce said. Bettors agree. The early money is heavily on Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City to repeat as Super Bowl champions when the Chiefs face the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11. That caused sportsbooks to drop the opening number that favored the Niners by 2 or 2 1/2 points to 1 or 1 1/2 points.
Quick Read
- Super Bowl Bet Trends: After the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over Baltimore, bettors are heavily favoring them to win the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers.
- Odds Shift: Early betting prompted sportsbooks to adjust the opening odds, which initially favored the 49ers, to now favor the Chiefs slightly.
- FanDuel and Caesars Adjustments: FanDuel Sportsbook adjusted the Niners from 2 1/2-point favorites to 1 1/2, and Caesars Sportsbook reduced their advantage from 3 points to 1 1/2 following the Chiefs’ recent performances.
- Bettor Preferences: A significant majority of bets and money at BetMGM are on the Chiefs, with similar trends observed at other sportsbooks.
- Professional vs. Casual Bettors: While professional bettors usually influence betting lines, the Super Bowl attracts a larger proportion of casual bettors, though their impact on the lines is minimal.
- Las Vegas’ Evolution: The Super Bowl’s presence in Las Vegas marks a significant milestone for a city that has expanded its sports hosting capabilities far beyond its original focus on UNLV basketball and boxing.
- Notable Bets: Large bets include a $1 million wager on the 49ers and a $100,000 bet on the coin toss outcome at Caesars Sportsbook.
The Associated Press has the story:
Early money heavily on Kansas City Chiefs to repeat as Super Bowl champs
Newslooks- LAS VEGAS (AP) —
Minutes after beating Baltimore 17-10 on Sunday to clinch a spot in the Super Bowl, Travis Kelce had a message to send. “The Chiefs are still the Chiefs,” Kelce said. Bettors agree.
The early money is heavily on Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City to repeat as Super Bowl champions when the Chiefs face the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11. That caused sportsbooks to drop the opening number that favored the Niners by 2 or 2 1/2 points to 1 or 1 1/2 points.
FanDuel Sportsbook opened the Niners as 2 1/2-point favorites, and that number was 1 1/2 on Wednesday.
Caesars Sportsbook had San Francisco as a 3-point favorite last week in a hypothetical matchup with the Chiefs. But then Kansas City followed a 27-24 upset victory over Buffalo by shutting down Lamar Jackson as Kelce dominated and Taylor Swift cheered from a stadium suite.
The 49ers had to rally from 24-7 down at home to beat Detroit 34-31. That was the second week in a row San Francisco had to come back to win after previously defeating Green Bay 24-21.
“So they haven’t looked good,” said Adam Pullen, Caesars assistant trading director. “Jackson had a few errors, but I think the Chiefs had a more impressive win. So I think that led to us opening at 2, opening even lower than what we predicted the week before. The money’s been pretty steady on the Chiefs so far, so we’re at 1 1/2.”
BetMGM public relations manager John Ewing said 71% of the bets and 78% of the money has come on the Chiefs on the betting spread, pushing the number on the 49ers from 2-point favorites to just a point. It was even more pronounced on the money line, with 84% of the bets and 79% of the money going to KC.
Surprised?
“No, not given the recent play by Kansas City as underdogs here in the last two games in the postseason, winning both of those and looking good doing it,” Ewing said. “So we are not surprised that they’re getting the action right now.”
PROS STILL CARRY THE DAY
Professional bettors, otherwise known as sharps, affect betting lines for all sports. The casual gambler? Not so much.
But the Super Bowl is one event where the casuals make up a much larger share of the money.
It still doesn’t matter.
“Public money won’t move the line,” Ewing said. “Generally, the public likes to bet with their heart.”
LAS VEGAS’ SUPER DEBUT
Pullen moved to Las Vegas in 1990 shortly after UNLV’s basketball team won the national championship and the city was all about the Rebels.
The Super Bowl being in Vegas wasn’t on anyone’s radar at that time.
“It’s come a long way from being just UNLV Runnin’ Rebel basketball and boxing to what it is now hosting every major sporting event,” Pullen said. “So, yeah, that’s pretty crazy.”GOING BIG
A Michigan bettor put $1 million at Caesars on the 49ers on the money line at minus-120. Another bettor at that sportsbook placed $100,000 on the coin toss to come up tails at minus-105.
