Las Vegas posts largest over/under ever for Chiefs-Rams, loses seven figures on it anyway
Before Monday night’s game, even fans who know little about betting had probably heard that the Kansas City Chiefs-Los Angeles Rams game had the highest over/under ever for an NFL game, at least as far back as anyone has tracked.
The total mostly settled at 63.5 or 64. The teams passed by that with two minutes still remaining in the third quarter. The books could have set the total at 104 and the over would have cashed. And that was not good for their business. The Rams won 54-51, the first time in NFL history both teams scored at least 50 points.
A spokesperson for William Hill, which operates more than 100 sportsbooks in Nevada, told ESPN’s Ben Fawkes that the company took a “healthy seven-figure loss” when the game breezed by the total.
The over in Chiefs-Rams cashed easily
Monday night was a perfect storm for people betting the over.
Usually, casual bettors prefer the over. It’s more enjoyable to root for points than punts. There are typically far more bets placed on prime-time games. That had to be multiplied for Monday night’s Chiefs-Rams game, the most anticipated matchup of the season. And even with a record-setting total, who was going to bet the under with two exciting and explosive offenses squaring off?
William Hill spokesperson Michael Grodsky told ESPN that 69 percent of their customers bet the over on what presumably was a high-volume game for the books. And that’s how you lose seven figures on the over.
Vegas probably lost on the point spread too
What couldn’t have helped the books either was the outcome. After he game was relocated to Los Angeles due to field conditions in Mexico City, the line moved between the Rams being favored by 3 or 3.5 points. The Rams won by a field goal. So all of the people who took the Rams minus-3 got their money back on a push. Those who took the Chiefs at plus-3.5 won. There weren’t many losing tickets on the side, aside from the few squares who took the Rams when the line sat at 3.5.
Nobody is crying for the sportsbooks. They’ll make that money back eventually. They always do. But for one night as the Chiefs and Rams went up and down the field, the customers trampled the house.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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