But it was Black Sunday in Las Vegas, as sportsbooks suffered what one gambling exec called “colossal” losses. Sportsbooks lost money on both games, as the 5.5-point underdog Packers and 2-point underdog Steelers both won.
MGM race and sports executive Jay Rood told ESPN.com his company’s loss Sunday is “just colossal.”
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Wynn sportsbook director John Avello told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the Packers game was a big money loser.
“We had a ton of Packer money lines and a ton of parlays on the over,” Avello said. “It was not a good weekend overall.”
Westgate SuperBook assistant manager Ed Salmons told ESPN the weekend’s results, “Can’t be worse. (They’re) awful.”
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William Hill, which operates more than 100 sportsbooks in Nevada, said it suffered the worst day in the company’s five-year history in Nevada.
To make matters even worse, sportsbooks lost what would have been expected to be a record betting matchup if the Cowboys and Patriots had met in the Super Bowl.
Bookmakers are off to a rocky start in the new year. Clemson’s upset of Alabama in the College Football Championship game costs sportsbooks in Nevada millions.
