Even in Las Vegas, Pro Bowl still ‘a forgotten event’ for bettors
Hosting the Pro Bowl is another milestone for Las Vegas as a pro sports town, but bettors are emitting a collective yawn.
With betting boards filled with Super Bowl props, sportsbooks are seeing little to no action on the NFL’s all-star game, even with it being played at Allegiant Stadium.
“That’s basically a forgotten event in betting markets, to be honest with you,” Westgate SuperBook sportsbook director John Murray said via text message.
The AFC is a consensus 1-point favorite in Sunday’s game against the NFC. The consensus total is 62½, though some sportsbooks have gone as high as 63½.
The AFC has won four straight Pro Bowls since the game returned to the “AFC vs. NFC” format in 2016.
The Westgate thinks the AFC has a slight edge under center, Murray said. The AFC quarterbacks are Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Mac Jones of the New England Patriots.
The NFC’s quarterbacks are Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals, Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks and Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings.
Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — the players expected to be first and second in league MVP voting — made the Pro Bowl roster but declined to participate. Brady has retired.
“We felt like the AFC should be favored based on the QBs, but it’s a total toss-up event,” Murray said.
The total has risen from 61 earlier in the week. Only one of the past four Pro Bowls has gone over that mark after the league made a push to make the game more competitive.
The Pro Bowl was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The nature of the Pro Bowl, with players shuffling in and out throughout the game, also prevents sportsbooks from crafting prop bets on the game. No sportsbooks had Pro Bowl props available Saturday.
Instead, there were thousands of options available to bet on next week’s Super Bowl between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams.
Asked if there was any action to report on the Pro Bowl, Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito had a simple response via text message:
“Sorry, it’s all about the Super Bowl.”
Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.
