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Super Bowl LII between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles provided football fans with another close game. The Eagles won the Super Bowl thanks, in part, to a late turnover by New England quarterback Tom Brady. Philadelphia was a 4 to 6 point underdog in the weeks leading up to the Big Game.
The Eagles left Minnesota with the Lombardi trophy. Meanwhile, in Nevada, the sports books had another record-breaking Super Bowl. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, $158.6 million was wagered in Nevada’s 198 sports books on this year’s Super Bowl.
The record handle exceeded handle on the 2017 Super Bowl by more than $20 million. This continues a record-breaking streak for betting handle during the Super Bowl in Nevada that dates back to at least 2009. According to ESPN.com, Nevada sports books operators have won 26 of the past 28 Super Bowls.
Here is a look at how Nevada sports books have performed financially during the past 10 Super Bowls:
| Year | Wagers | Win (Loss) | Win % | Game Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $158,586,934 | $1,170,432 | 0.7% | Philadelphia 41, New England 33 |
| 2017 | $138,480,136 | $10,937,826 | 7.9% | New England 34, Atlanta 28 |
| 2016 | $132,545,587 | $13,314,539 | 10.1% | Denver 24, Carolina 10 |
| 2015 | $115,986,086 | $3,261,099 | 2.8% | New England 28, Seattle 24 |
| 2014 | $119,400,822 | $19,673,960 | 16.5% | Seattle 43, Denver 8 |
| 2013 | $98,936,798 | $7,206,460 | 7.3% | Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31 |
| 2012 | $93,899,840 | $5,064,470 | 5.4% | N.Y. Giants 21, New England 17 |
| 2011 | $87,491,098 | $724,176 | 0.8% | Green Bay 31, Pittsburgh 25 |
| 2010 | $82,726,367 | $6,857,101 | 8.3% | New Orleans 31, Indianapolis 17 |
| 2009 | $81.514,748 | $6,678,044 | 8.2% | Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23 |
Bettors fared better than usual, as the casinos won less than one percent of the money wagered. Becky Harris from the Nevada Gaming Control Board said “unaudited figures show a sports book win of $1,170,432 was recorded,” from Super Bowl wagering. The hold percentage this year was only 0.7%.
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Wins, losses and ham sandwiches
Some sports book operators had winning Super Bowls, some had losers, and one made enough money to buy a ham sandwich.
Caesars Entertainment sports books in Nevada showed a large seven-figure win on the Super Bowl. However, not all sports book operators fared so well.
William Hill had a multi-million dollar loss after the Super Bowl. Three seven-figure bets alone combined for a loss of $4,634,782. Additionally, 75 percent of the money line bet tickets were on the underdog Eagles. William Hill operates more than 100 sports books in Nevada.
we ended up winning a ham sandwhich on the game as we took a lot of ml on pats last hr did very good on props pointspread props fell our way and total going over dealt us a good result as eagles parlays were 60-40 to the under
— Jimmy Vaccaro (@JimmyVaccaro) February 5, 2018
Jimmy Vaccaro from the South Point Casino had a more colorful way to describe how his sports book fared. The casino took late money line wagers on the Patriots, which offset potential losses and generated a small win. Hey, at least they won enough money to buy a ham sandwich for lunch.
Photo by VictorHugoGaribay / Shutterstock.com
