One Man’s Bet: $300,000 On Chargers
The last time a team went into the Super Bowl an 18-point underdog, Joe Namath and the New York Jets won the game outright. Many are betting it may happen again.
Bettors looking for some value in Las Vegas’ legal sports books found it in the so-called “money line,” where the Chargers were as much as 12-1 underdogs to beat the 49ers.
The long odds attracted enough action so that by Saturday the line had dropped to 7-1 in some books.
“People are looking for a big payoff,” said Lenny Del Genio, sports book director at Bally’s hotelcasino. “Everybody in town is getting money on San Diego.”
The spread - which had gone as high as 20 1/2 points in a frenzy of early betting following San Francisco’s win over Dallas - was at 18 Saturday.
“The line is dropping all over the city,” said Jimmy Vaccaro, who manages the sports book at the Mirage. “The players bet the 49ers early and, as the spread climbed, the Charger money started coming in.”
The largest bet Vaccaro has taken was on the Chargers for $300,000.
Bookmakers had feared the prospect of a lopsided game would limit Super Bowl betting, which last year drew $54.5 million across the state.
That fear was the reason the 49ers opened as a 17 1/2-point favorite in a game most oddsmakers said normally would be a 14-point spread. The 49ers were 15-point favorites over Tampa Bay this season and 8-point picks over San Diego seven weeks ago.
One man’s view
As has been its policy, the NFL distances itself from gambling.
Miami Herald columnist Greg Cote is among those who believes the NFL is hypocritical. Writes Cote:
“Gambling drives pro football’s popularity. It makes the Super Bowl - even a dud like 49ers-Chargers - the national phenomenon it is.
“Remove gambling from this game and it becomes an anticlimactic rout of regional attraction. Instead, today’s game will be the year’s highestrated TV show. … High ratings mean high advertising revenues and record network deals for the league and its teams. Yet gambling is evil?
It is the best thing to happen to the NFL since the forward pass.”