Las Vegas sportsbooks win big on Packers, lose big on Chiefs

Kicking is for losers.

That’s a favorite saying of Westgate sportsbook director John Murray and it was never more true than on the NFL’s conference championship Sunday.

Green Bay trailed Tampa Bay by eight points and faced fourth-and-goal at the Buccaneers’ 8-yard line with 2:05 left in the NFC title game. Rather than try to tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion, Packers coach Matt LaFleur decided to kick a field goal.

Green Bay never got the ball back as the Buccaneers were able to run out the clock to close out their 31-26 upset as 3½-point underdogs and advance to Super Bowl LV.

LaFleur’s ill-fated decision sealed the fate of Packers bettors in what turned out to be a huge win for Las Vegas sportsbooks, which ended up small winners on the day after losing big on the Chiefs’ 38-24 win over the Bills in the AFC title game.

“That was one of the worst calls I’ve seen,” Westgate sportsbook vice president Jay Kornegay said. “Kicking a field goal never entered my mind. You still need a touchdown and if you don’t convert or don’t score, you’ve got them pinned back.”

On the flip side, the gamble by Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians to go for it on fourth down at midfield in the final seconds of the first half instead of punting paid huge dividends. A play after Tom Brady hit Leonard Fournette with a six-yard pass to convert on fourth-and-4, he lofted a 39-yard touchdown pass to Scotty Miller for a 21-10 lead with one second left before halftime.

“The end of the first half was just ridiculous,” Kornegay said. “You’ve got eight seconds to go, you can’t let the guy get behind you. Green Bay really got outcoached in the first half.”

Kicked to curb

Buffalo twice settled for field goals that cut its deficit to nine points each time in its loss at Kansas City as a 3-point underdog.

Down 21-9 in the final seconds of the first half, the Bills kicked a 20-yard field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 2 to make it 21-12. Likewise, trailing 24-12 in the third quarter, Buffalo kicked a 27-yard field goal on fourth-and-3 at the 8 to make it 24-15.

The Chiefs answered with a TD and led by double digits the rest of the way.

“You can’t kick field goals against Kansas City,” Sunset Station sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said.

The Chiefs covered for the first time since Nov. 1 to end an 0-8-1 spread slide. Buffalo failed to cover two of its three playoff games after ending the regular season on an 8-0 ATS streak.

Major wagers

BetMGM and William Hill each reported winning days despite paying out multiple half-million dollar wagers.

William Hill bettors cashed a $705,000 money-line wager on the Chiefs (-155) that paid $454,839, a $330,000 straight bet on Kansas City (-3) that paid $300,000 and a $500,000 straight bet at Bally’s on the Bucs (+3½) that paid $454,545.

BetMGM bettors won an $800,000 money-line wager on KC (-160) that paid $500,000 and a $550,000 straight bet on Tampa Bay (+3½) that paid $500,000.

MGM bettors also lost straight bets on Green Bay of $525,000, $275,000 and $120,000.

“Of the non-six-figure bets, 60 to 70 percent of them were on the Packers,” MGM Resorts director of trading Jeff Stoneback said. “It was kind of a double-edged sword, though, because we have such a large liability on the Bucs and Chiefs (to win the Super Bowl).

“We ended up losing on the Chiefs game but we didn’t give it all back. The point spread was pretty balanced, but that half-million bet turned the game into a loser for us.”

All over

Bettors won on the totals as both games went over. A bettor at the Westgate won a $110,000 straight bet on the Buffalo-KC over, which closed at 55. The Bucs-Packers total closed at 53½.

“We really needed the under for that second game,” Kornegay said. “But we never had a chance.”

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