It was one thing to think the Eagles wouldn’t win the Super Bowl — and hey, they didn’t — but most bettors thought they wouldn’t even cover the 6 1/2-point spread. Even George Bush Sr. predicted the Patriots would win by two touchdowns.
The Pats only won by three. Nevada sportsbooks, however, reportedly won $15.4 million this year as a result. From the article:
Many people bet the favored Patriots minus seven points; they bet a parlay that involved taking the Patriots minus a touchdown and betting the total amount of points would be above 47½ or 48; and they sought a higher payoff by wagering the Philadelphia Eagles would win straight up.
Most gamblers believed the Patriots, coming from the superior AFC, would romp against the Eagles. They looked at how the Patriots easily defeated the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers on the way to the big game and they remembered the Patriots’ two Super Bowl victories in 2004 and 2002.
“A lot of people unfortunately got burned,” said Bob Scucci, Stardust race and sports book director.
And I picked a very good year not to start betting on football.