No bets are off Super Sunday
Our annual guide to crazy ways to wager on biggest show of year.
As big as the Super Bowl is, some things in life are more important. Like earthquakes.
That’s where we start our fifth annual peer into the bizarre world of proposition betting on America’s supreme sporting event.
Super Bowl 50 will be played in Santa Clara, Calif., near the San Andreas Fault and other areas where seismic activity is prevalent. Anyway, a person can get 10-1 odds, or more, betting on an earthquake during Sunday’s game.
An estimated $ 4.2 billion will be wagered on Carolina vs. Denver, according to the American Gaming Association. Some forecasts double that amount when counting offshore sports books and Super Bowl parties, where various numbers games will be popular.
Prop betting is what turned Super Bowl wagering “into a monster,” one Las Vegas sports book director told the Washington Post. It all started in 1986 with some Vegas casinos offering 20-1 odds on whether Bears defensive tackle William “The Refrigerator” Perry would score a touchdown vs. the Patriots. When the Fridge rumbled in for a late-game score, so much pub-
licity was generated that prop betting caught fire.
Now you can wager on everything from how long it will take Lady Gaga to sing the national anthem to how many wings Buffalo Wild Wings will sell Super Bowl Sunday. (Hint: It was 11 million-plus last year.)
We enjoy the crosssports action. Will Golden State’s Stephen Curry make more 3-pointers against Oklahoma City than Carolina tight end Greg Olsen totals receptions? Will English soccer power Arsenal score more goals this weekend than Peyton Manning throws touchdown passes?
You can get 20-1 odds on this parlay: Broncos win the Super Bowl; Spurs win the NBA title; Peyton Manning and Tim Duncan retire.
Oh, the game? Most of the money is on Carolina, a 5½-point favorite as of Friday. On one hand, favorites have won 34 of 49 Super Bowls (69 percent). On the flip side, teams like the Panthers, who scored 40-plus points in their previous playoff game, are 5-23 against the spread (18 percent) in their next playoff game, according to RJ Bell of pregame.com.
So what’s a bettor to do? Take Carolina to win 27-17. By the way, you could have gotten 60-1 odds on the Panthers’ winning before the season started.
Last year, we were a perfectly mediocre 5-5 in our Super Bowl props. Here are this year’s darts with one warning: Vegas has won money on 23 of the past 25 Super Bowls.
Prop: How many times will the Golden Gate Bridge be shown (over/ under: 1½)?
Wager: Over. Too beautiful not to give it a couple of looks.
Prop: Will the first Panther to score give the ball to a boy or girl in the stands?
Wager: Girl. Play to the girls, guys.
Prop: Which city will have a higher TV rating, Denver or Charlotte?
Wager: Denver. Terrific sports town, with the added Manning farewell drama.
Prop: Sacks for Von Miller (over/under: ½)
Wager: Wrecking Crew. The Broncos linebacker from Texas A&M gets one.
Prop: Will Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins collect more points plus rebounds vs. Boston than Cam Newton gains rushing yards?
Wager: Cam. Cousins was averaging 27.1 points and 11.3 rebounds entering Friday. Newton, who’ll be forced to run, should top that 38.4 figure.
Prop: Will Manning throw for more than 235 yards?
Wager: No. He hasn’t done that since Week 9 of this season.
Prop: Which song will Coldplay do first at halftime?
Wager: “Clocks,” the band’s signature piece, is an excellent bargain at 7-1.
Prop: Will CBS replay expert Mike Carey be wrong about a challenge?
Wager: No. He’s so incredibly overdue to get things right.
Prop: Will Tiger Woods post a higher score in the first round of the Masters than Emmanuel Sanders totals receiving yards?
Wager: Tiger might not be in the Masters, so hop on the Denver receiver.
Prop: Super Bowl MVP?
Wager: Peyton Manning at 3-1. If Denver wins, doesn’t it have to be the Old Gunslinger? Betting on Cam, the New Sheriff, has a poor payoff, but keep an eye on Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly at 14-1.