When New Year’s Eve and the NFL collide in Las Vegas, it makes for an interesting dynamic. Sports betting tends to see a little more big money flying around.
That was certainly the case with NFL Week 17 odds.
“We have several whales in town for New Year’s Eve. And they’re making six-figure bets like they’re playing $5 chips,” BetMGM Nevada’s Scott Shelton said.
And the whales had their way on a few plays Sunday.
Oddsmakers at sportsbooks across the country recap the weekend that was in NFL betting.
One Giants’ Step
Almost universally, sportsbook operators were over the moon with the New York Giants’ upset of the Indianapolis Colts. The Giants were 7.5-point home underdogs and in position to get the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, if they just kept losing.
But Drew Lock, Malik Nabers & Co. had other ideas. The G-Men notched a 45-33 victory that knocked the Colts out of playoff contention.
“The Giants winning outright, that beat a lot of moneyline parlays and teasers,” South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews said, surely echoing sentiments from oddsmakers nationwide. “We finally got a ‘dog — a big ‘dog — to win a game.”
Indeed, the past 2.5 months have been good to favorites, and therefore to the public betting masses. NFL Week 17 odds were by no means bad to the bettors — favorites are 13-2 straight up (SU) and 11-4 against the spread (ATS) so far.
But the Giants were a key result for most bookmakers.
“The Giants saved us,” SuperBook vice president John Murray said.
Added Andrews: “We didn’t win too many games, but that one was a biggie.”
However, BetMGM Nevada would’ve taken a different result.
“It was no good for us. We took a six-figure bet on Giants +7.5,” Shelton said.
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Command Performance
Also, almost universally, bookmakers needed the Atlanta Falcons to cover as 3.5-point road underdogs to the Washington Commanders on Sunday night. Michael Penix Jr. & Co. forged a 24-24 tie to force overtime, but Jayden Daniels delivered a 30-24 win and cover for Washington in the extra period.
Pregame, BetMGM trading manager Christian Cipollini said the Falcons were definitely the need. The same was true at DraftKings Sportsbook, where the Commanders took more point-spread bets than any other NFL team on Sunday.
And once again in Vegas — harboring all those New Year’s Eve high-rollers — a major wager connected, though not on either team.
“We got destroyed. We took a six-figure bet on the first-half total Over 23. A field goal with two seconds left made it 24,” Shelton said. “It was not our night.”
Atlanta place-kicker Riley Patterson hit that field goal in the final seconds of the half, giving the Falcons a 17-7 lead and significantly padding the wallet of that big bettor.
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More Public Payouts
The public betting masses definitely enjoyed themselves during the NFL Christmas Day doubleheader and Saturday’s triple-bill. Favorites went 5-0 straight up (SU) and 4-1 against the spread (ATS) across those two days.
“Wednesday was bad, favorite-favorite,” Andrews said of the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens posting easy road wins over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans, respectively. “Saturday wasn’t great, because we had a lot of moneyline parlays with all three favorites.
“Those moneyline parlays with the favorites, that’s been beating us all year.”
In Saturday’s case: The Los Angeles Chargers opened with a 40-7 road rout of the New England Patriots; the Cincinnati Bengals topped the visiting Denver Broncos 30-24 in overtime; and the Los Angeles Rams barely survived in a 13-9 home win over the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cardinals had first-and-goal on the 5-yard line, but a deflected Kyler Murray pass was intercepted, sealing the Rams’ victory — and cashing those three-team moneyline parlays on the favorites.
“We had a chance to win a lot of money if the Cardinals won outright. But they didn’t. It was a disappointing day, for sure,” The SuperBook’s Murray said.
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Game of the Day
Sunday’s Green Bay Packers–Minnesota Vikings showdown on FOX attracted plenty of betting attention. Interestingly, 1-point road underdog Green Bay took more action at multiple books, against a Minnesota team among the best in the league on the field and, for bettors, at 13-2 SU/11-4-1 ATS.
The Vikings built a 27-10 lead and ultimately hung on for a 27-25 win and narrow cover. That was a welcome outcome at The SuperBook and for BetMGM nationally, but not for BetMGM’s Vegas operation.
“We took a six-figure bet on Vikings first-half moneyline -115, so we got stuck on that one,” Shelton said.
Minnesota led 13-3 at halftime, giving that bettor a six-figure profit.
Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.
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