What’s the best part of this built-in bye week between the NFL’s conference championship games and the Super Bowl? By far, it’s got to be when sportsbooks start posting proposition bets en masse for the big game. It’s a release-the-hounds moment, perhaps no more so than at the famed Westgate Las Vegas Superbook. **video
Jay Kornegay, who runs this massive shrine of sports betting as vice president of race and sports for the Westgate, had his crew working on the props for four days, then had something of a posting party Thursday night at the Superbook.
“We never count them. Seriously. But there are probably more than 400,” Kornegay said, while crediting Jeff Sherman, Ed Salmons, Randy Blum and John Murray for doing most of the heavy lifting.
And it’s worthwhile lifting. Kornegay said that prop bets at the Superbook now account for 60 percent of the handle specifically on the game – the side, total, moneyline and prop bets. Simply put, the people want their props.
“That percentage keeps going up, as more people get comfortable betting the props,” Kornegay said, adding it’s not shocking that the bulk of the money is on props. “It actually doesn’t surprise me at all. I always thought the entertainment value of props was a way to get fans involved who were not fans of the two teams involved.”
Kornegay said most bettors will still typically have their largest bet on the side, but then they’ll sprinkle around the rest of their funds on props.
“By betting five or six props, you basically have action throughout the entire game, despite what the score may be,” Kornegay said. “This exploded in the 1990s, when it seemed every Super Bowl was a blowout. We started by trying to put up props that wouldn’t be decided until later in the game. It worked, people really warmed up to it, and we’ve never looked back.”
Some props won’t be decided until well after the Super Bowl. With the expansion Vegas Golden Knights’ stunning success in their inaugural season, the Superbook – and others around town – made certain to include the NHL team among the wagering options.
“We’ve got one with Golden Knights playoff wins vs. number of touchdowns in the Super Bowl,” Kornegay said, noting the Knights are half-point favorites on that prop. “We’ve also got Knights Stanley Cup Playoff series wins vs. fumbles lost in the Super Bowl.”
Of course, this game attracts tons of public action and a lot of casual bettors who may not bet the rest of the year, so the more popular options are the ones that tend to have big payoffs. For example, betting “yes” on whether there will be a safety (+600) or “yes” on whether there will be overtime (also +600).
“That overtime one, the first time that cashed was last year,” Kornegay said, alluding to the Patriots’ 34-28 victory after a stunning comeback from a 28-3 deficit. “Bettors are always attracted to those low-risk/high-reward props.”
So what are some of Kornegay’s favorites?
“Will either team score three straight times? We call that the grandfather of all props. It was one of our first creative ones,” Kornegay said. “Player to score the first touchdown, which just gets tremendous action. And this is the third year we’ve been able to offer the MVP prop. In fact, the first year, when Von Miller won it, we just got our clock cleaned on that one. It was a pretty hefty number for a defensive player to win MVP. We took a punch there.”
Of course, sportsbooks all over Vegas and throughout Nevada offer a plethora of prop bets. Jason Simbal, vice president of risk management for CG Technology, said Thursday his books already have 80 props on the betting board and available on CG’s mobile app, with a total of 170 or so filling out the betting board by this weekend. And there’ll be a few more after that.
“A lot of times, people will suggest cool ones, and we’ll put ‘em up,” Simbal said. “But all the ones people always bet, we’ve got them up already.”
William Hill US, which operates dozens of books around Vegas among more than 100 throughout Nevada, also has a couple hundred props. And as William Hill US pointed out in a news release Thursday, there are more than 900 betting options within those props.
“Year in and year out, we do a good job,” said Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill US. “And we’re one of the few joints that does a 20-cent line for the two-way props. You’re buying -110 on each side. Most places are -115 or -120. So that’s a pretty good deal for the customers. We try to give our customers a decent bang for their buck.”
Patrick Everson is a Las Vegas-based senior writer for Covers. Follow him on Twitter: @Covers_Vegas.
