Bettors bank on Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers to reach Super Bowl
More money has been bet on the Seattle Seahawks to win the Super Bowl than any other team at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. The Green Bay Packers are a close second as the NFL season kicks off.
The Seahawks are listed at 9-2 to win the Super Bowl at the SuperBook, just ahead of the Packers at 6-1. The New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts are all 8-1. The Denver Broncos, at 9-1, round out the teams with single-digit odds at the SuperBook.
Seattle is also the Super Bowl favorite at the MGM, Wynn, CG Technology, Station Casinos, Stratosphere and Aliante sportsbooks. The Packers are the favorites at William Hill and the Orleans and co-favorites with the Seahawks at Caesars' sportsbooks.
The Packers host Seattle in Week 2. Green Bay is a 3-point favorite.
The odds to win the Super Bowl are the largest futures pool Las Vegas sportsbooks offer, with millions wagered statewide. Ed Salmons of the SuperBook, a 20-year Las Vegas bookmaker, estimates four times more money is wagered on the winner of the Super Bowl than on the college football national championship.
Six risky bettors invested in the Jacksonville Jaguars to win the Super Bowl at the SuperBook at 300-1.
"We had someone walk in and bet $2,000 on the Jaguars at 30-1 to win the [AFC South] division," Salmons said Sunday.
John Avello, veteran bookmaker at the Wynn, took a five-figure bet on the New York Jets, at 100-1, to win the Super Bowl. The $4,000 bet on the Washington Redskins, at 150-1, placed at William Hill on Aug. 27 also seems risky.
But the bulk of the cash is on the Seahawks and Packers at most books. The two Super Bowl favorites are responsible for 24 percent of the entire amount bet at William Hill's futures book (12 percent each). The Broncos are third in money, including a $30,000 bet on Peyton Manning's club at 14-1 odds. Denver is down to 7-1 at William Hill.
The defending champion Patriots have seen their Super Bowl odds fluctuate throughout the offseason, drifting to 10-1 in the heart of Deflategate. The Patriots are 7-point home favorites over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Thursday's opener.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, William Hill was reporting 80 percent of the money wagered on the season opener is on the Patriots. A few Super Bowl prop bets are already on the board too. Jimmy Vaccaro of the South Point said more than $4,000 already had been wagered on "Will there be a successful two-point conversion?" in Super Bowl 50, on Feb. 7, 2016 in Santa Clara, California.
The current Super Bowl line at the Westgate is NFC -2.5, with an over/under total of 52.5.
