Bettors Stick With Favoriting Panthers
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Bettors liked the Carolina Panthers all the way to kickoff in the legal sports books in Las Vegas.
The Panthers were 5.5 point favorites to win the Super Bowl at some books, and 5 point favorites at others in a betting line that barely budged for two weeks.
"It's been Carolina from the beginning to the end," said Nick Bogdanovich, the oddsmaker at the William Hill chain. "We've been at 5.5 points forever."
Bettors also loved the so-called "props" in the game, which books put on the board by the hundreds. Bettors could bet anything from whether the first score of the game was a safety to whether Peyton Manning would take the last offensive snap of the game for the Denver Broncos.
Bogdanovich said professional gamblers liked the under in the game, prompting his book to drop it from 45 to 44 points before game day.
Bettors stood in lines 10-15 deep much of Sunday waiting to place their bets. Most bookmakers said they expect the game to have a chance to surpass the record total of $119.4 million wagered legally in Nevada books two years ago.
