Let the prop bets begin...
Professional gamblers and odds makers alike attribute the rise in wagering to the increase in televised games, and the increasing ubiquity of sports analysis.
Amateur gamblers are more likely to bet on a game they can watch, because the emotional journey is part of the fun.
The proliferation of sports podcasts, blogs and websites, as well as the debates that rage on social media, have all made fans feel more educated and confident in their opinions, according to Kornegay, who spent last week furiously working with four staffers to figure out hyper-specific data points like the number of receptions Denver running back Knowshon Moreno is likely to have.
Proposition wagers, in which gamblers bet on elements of the game aside from the final score, account for as much as 60 percent of Super Bowl bets in Nevada.
Johnny Avello, who runs the luxurious sports book at Wynn, where the chairs are made of fine leather and the carpet is thick enough to pass out on, believes the stigma is also falling away from the pastime.
Avello, who speaks with a Goodfellas-type Brooklyn accent even though he grew up in upstate New York, says this is the biggest change he's seen in the past decades.
"Even Al Michaels on (Sunday) Night Football will say, 'Wow, they covered the spread,'" he said, grinning in disbelief.
...
The surge in betting means that sports books are now expected to contribute to the bottom line.
So while casinos are throwing elaborate parties for Super Bowl weekend, selling table service and luxurious suites, don't expect to get so much as a free bottle of water at the sports book. At Wynn, a customer has to bet $150 before the book will think about giving out a drink ticket.
Books remain less profitable per square foot than table games, where the house always wins. An oddsmaker's goal is to neither win nor lose on the games, but to get equal money coming in on both sides — and clean up in commissions.
This commission, also known as the vigorish or juice, amounts to about 4.5 percent of the handle at most Strip sports books.
Don't start wringing your hands for the sports books, though. They've only lost twice on the Super Bowl in the past 20 years.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/football-betting-popular-vegas-22248192?singlePage=true
Professional gamblers and odds makers alike attribute the rise in wagering to the increase in televised games, and the increasing ubiquity of sports analysis.
Amateur gamblers are more likely to bet on a game they can watch, because the emotional journey is part of the fun.
The proliferation of sports podcasts, blogs and websites, as well as the debates that rage on social media, have all made fans feel more educated and confident in their opinions, according to Kornegay, who spent last week furiously working with four staffers to figure out hyper-specific data points like the number of receptions Denver running back Knowshon Moreno is likely to have.
Proposition wagers, in which gamblers bet on elements of the game aside from the final score, account for as much as 60 percent of Super Bowl bets in Nevada.
Johnny Avello, who runs the luxurious sports book at Wynn, where the chairs are made of fine leather and the carpet is thick enough to pass out on, believes the stigma is also falling away from the pastime.
Avello, who speaks with a Goodfellas-type Brooklyn accent even though he grew up in upstate New York, says this is the biggest change he's seen in the past decades.
"Even Al Michaels on (Sunday) Night Football will say, 'Wow, they covered the spread,'" he said, grinning in disbelief.
...
The surge in betting means that sports books are now expected to contribute to the bottom line.
So while casinos are throwing elaborate parties for Super Bowl weekend, selling table service and luxurious suites, don't expect to get so much as a free bottle of water at the sports book. At Wynn, a customer has to bet $150 before the book will think about giving out a drink ticket.
Books remain less profitable per square foot than table games, where the house always wins. An oddsmaker's goal is to neither win nor lose on the games, but to get equal money coming in on both sides — and clean up in commissions.
This commission, also known as the vigorish or juice, amounts to about 4.5 percent of the handle at most Strip sports books.
Don't start wringing your hands for the sports books, though. They've only lost twice on the Super Bowl in the past 20 years.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/football-betting-popular-vegas-22248192?singlePage=true
