Las Vegas bettors celebrate banner NFL Sunday
After Marcus Peters broke up Josh Allen’s fourth-down pass at the goal line to preserve Baltimore’s 24-17 win and cover at Buffalo on Sunday, he celebrated by jumping into the stands and shotgunning a beer with fans.
Countless bettors at Las Vegas sportsbooks also toasted the Ravens’ cover, including two high rollers at The Mirage who won more than $500,000 between them on Baltimore.
One bettor placed a total of $210,000 in straight bets on the Ravens, who closed as 6½-point favorites.
Another gambler placed a total of $364,000 in straight bets on Baltimore, including a $150,000 halftime wager.
Both bettors happened to place their wagers shortly before the 10 a.m. kickoff. Before that, The Mirage sportsbook director Jeff Stoneback was anticipating a relatively uneventful day during a traditionally slow time of year in Las Vegas.
“It got pretty wild a half hour before kickoff when these two different guys were literally betting the Ravens at the same time,” Stoneback said.
For good measure, the same bettor who won about $330,000 on Baltimore also won a $100,000 straight bet on the 49ers, who covered as 1½-point underdogs in a thrilling 48-46 victory at New Orleans.
Another MGM Resorts bettor won a $300,000 straight bet placed last week on the Niners (11-2), who along with the Ravens (11-2) were two of the biggest winners on what was a profitable day for the betting public.
“Those two games just wiped us out,” Stoneback said. “They were both gigantic losses for us. At this point, it is close to one of our worst days of the year.”
The big bettor gave back $270,000 of his winnings on a straight bet on the Seahawks, who lost 28-12 to the Rams on Sunday night as 1-point underdogs.
Favorite things
In a season dominated by underdogs, favorites went 7-5-1 ATS on Sunday.
“Overall, it’s been a good day for the guests. It could be a small losing day for the books,” Sunset Station sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said before the Sunday night game. “We needed the Bills, Texans, Saints, Browns and Panthers, and none of them got there. The biggest afternoon game was the Jaguars, and they lost as well.”
Easy winners
The Chargers, 3½-point favorites, whipped Jacksonville 45-10 to deal the Jaguars their fifth straight loss of at least 17 points.
The Falcons, 3½-point favorites, cruised past Carolina 40-20 in the Panthers’ first game since coach Ron Rivera was fired.
The Broncos, 8-point underdogs, took a 31-3 halftime lead at Houston behind three touchdown passes by Drew Lock en route to a 38-24 win.
The Titans, 3-point favorites, outscored the Raiders 21-0 in the second half of a 42-21 victory. Tennessee has won and covered four straight and six of seven games behind quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Hail to the Chiefs
The Chiefs, getting three points from the Patriots, were one of three underdogs to win outright, beating New England 23-16.
Bashaud Breeland broke up Tom Brady’s fourth-down pass to Julian Edelman in the end zone with 1:06 left to end the Patriots’ 21-game home winning streak. Breeland didn’t funnel a beer in the stands, but the betting public celebrated as it backed Kansas City, which has won and covered three straight.
The Patriots, who had a few bad calls go against them, continued to burn the books, who seem to lose whether they need New England or its opponent.
“Of all the days for the Patriots not to get a call,” CG Technology sportsbook director Tony DiTommaso said. “We’re used to saying it the other way.”
Final seconds
A week after San Francisco lost 20-17 at Baltimore on a field goal as time expired, Niners bettors had to sweat out the final minute against the Saints.
Drew Brees threw an 18-yard TD pass to Tre’Quan Smith to put New Orleans ahead 46-45 with 53 seconds left. The Saints went for two, which would have put them up three and at least temporarily covered the spread, but failed when Brees threw incomplete.
Jimmy Garoppolo then marched San Francisco 63 yards in seven plays to set up Robbie Gould’s game-winning 30-yard field goal. Saints bettors didn’t technically suffer a bad beat, but the kick would have only tied the game had New Orleans not gone for two early and failed after a TD put them ahead 13-7.
Had they kicked the extra point early, they would have been up two after the late score and added an extra point for a three-point lead.
“I’m sure (Saints coach) Sean Payton wishes he had that point back,” Esposito said.
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Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.