Bettors line up to make wagers on Super Bowl props

In an annual Las Vegas tradition, some of the city’s sharpest sports bettors waited in line at the Westgate sports book Thursday night to take the first crack at wagering on more than 400 Super Bowl LII prop bets.

Moments after the giant video board lit up at 7 p.m. with the ever-popular props in bright green, a steady stream of about 25 bettors wagered up to $2,000 each on two props before heading to the back of the line to do it again.

“The guys that are here waiting for us to turn them on, most of them are pretty sharp. They do this for a living,” Westgate sports book supervisor Derek Wilkinson said. “They’ve done their homework, for sure.”

While cross-sport props such as Golden Knights’ playoff wins vs. total touchdowns in the Super Bowl are fun, the sharps were more focused on finding vulnerable numbers.

Jeff Whitelaw, a sharp bettor, has been coming to the Westgate to wager on the opening night of Super Bowl props for about 15 years. He had a handwritten list of props he compared to the ones on the board.

“I try to make my own numbers. Anything that’s off my number, I try to bet,” he said. “I have about 40 bets. The problem is everybody goes through the line and most of these people are betting things I probably like, also. I might have to go through a bunch of these before I get to one that hasn’t moved.”

Whitelaw said he likes New England wide receiver Danny Amendola to go over four receptions and 46½ receiving yards.

“I had (the numbers) a little higher,” he said. “He’s been (Tom) Brady’s security blanket, especially if (Rob) Gronkowski doesn’t play. He probably will, but we don’t know yet.”

Other bettors try to middle the props at different sports books. Professional sports bettor Frank Carulli bet Nick Foles’ passing yards under 259½ at William Hill, which opened the prop at 270½ on Thursday afternoon. He then wagered on Foles to go over 239½ passing yards at the Westgate. If Foles finishes with 240 to 259 passing yards, Carulli will win both bets. If not, he’ll lose the juice.

Every Las Vegas sports book posts an extensive menu of Super Bowl props. William Hill posted 948 wagering options, many including the Golden Knights.

“The prop handle is utterly insane,” William Hill sports book director Nick Bogdanovich said. “It rivals every bit the side and the game.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.