As expected, Peyton Manning led the favored Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl victory on Sunday. The upset came Tuesday, when the wagering numbers on the game fell just short of a Nevada record.
A total of $93 million was bet on Super Bowl XLI, and the state's 176 sports books won $12.9 million, according to figures released by the Gaming Control Board.
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Two weeks ago there was widespread speculation that the handle would top $100 million for the first time, but the total did not surpass the record $94.5 million wagered in the state on last year's Super Bowl.
"We get spoiled here. Every year, we think we're going to continually get bigger," said Jimmy Vaccaro, public relations director for Leroy's sports books and a Las Vegas bookmaker for over 30 years.
"I think we may have reached a saturation point. Just how much can you cram out of one game?"
The Colts opened as 7-point favorites over the Chicago Bears and won, 29-17. The line closed at 6 1/2 at several books and the total closed at 47.
"I thought with the Colts and Bears, two teams with a pretty good fan base, we would have surpassed last year," said Frank Streshley, the control board's statistical analyst.
Instead, an impressive growth spurt in Super Bowl wagering was interrupted. The handle had increased for five consecutive years, up from $71.5 million in 2002.
Most sports book directors, including the MGM Mirage's Robert Walker and the Las Vegas Hilton's Jay Kornegay, reported fewer five- and six-figure wagers than in recent years.
"We were seeing a lot of bets coming in, but they weren't your typical large Super Bowl bets," Kornegay said. "I think some people were backing off just because they didn't have a feel for the game."
Kornegay said he started to get the feeling there would not be a record handle after "unexpectedly slow" wagering activity Friday.
"Leading up to Super Bowl week, I really thought we were going to set a record," he said.
Still, there were few bookmakers crying behind the counter. The wagers totaled $93,067,358 and the books showed a win of $12,930,175 for a win percentage of 13.9.
Nevada sports books have posted a win in 12 consecutive Super Bowls. The state's books last showed a Super Bowl loss of $396,674 in 1995, when San Francisco routed San Diego.
At Leroy's sports books, Vaccaro said the handle was up 10 percent and the win was up 8 percent over last year. The proliferation of proposition betting, he said, helps most books win on the Super Bowl.
"In most cases, the props show a profit," Vaccaro said. "That takes a lot of the sting out. With point-spread props and player props, that gives you multiple outs as a bookmaker."
SUPER BOWL BETTING HISTORY
A summary of the performances by Nevada sports books for the past 12 Super Bowls:
