Wiseguys bet big against popular overtime, safety props

With the vast majority of the money wagered on Super Bowl LI not expected to pour into Las Vegas sports books until the 48 hours or so leading up to Sunday’s 3:30 p.m. kickoff, the line is still locked in at Patriots minus-3 over the Falcons and a total of 59.

At Boyd Gaming, the wiseguys are on the Falcons and the under and the public is pounding Patriots-and-over parlays.

“We’re getting a ton of New England-and-over parlays, mostly the small stuff in the $100-$500 range. And the big stuff seems to come in on the Falcons,” Boyd Gaming sports book director Bob Scucci said. “It’s pretty good two-way action.”

Scucci said the biggest bet he’s booked so far was a “pretty big five-figure bet” on the Falcons at plus-3 and the biggest action he’s taken on the total has been on the under.

“Even with the wiseguys on the under, I think we’re still going to need under by game time,” he said. “I have a feeling we’ll have both Patriots-and-over parlays and a lot of Falcons’ money line-and-over (parlays).”

In keeping with Super Bowl prop bet patterns, Scucci said the public is betting on anything with long odds, from 3-1 or higher, and the professionals are on the big favorites.

“The sharper guys aren’t afraid to lay the higher prices. Will there be overtime? They’re not afraid to lay (minus-1000) on the ‘No,’” he said. “It’s the same thing with a safety. They’ll lay (minus-900) that there won’t be a safety.”

The betting public also loves to bet on the player to score the first touchdown. Patriots receiver Chris Hogan, who had 180 yards receiving and two touchdowns in the AFC title game, is at 8-1 after opening at 15-1.

“Hogan’s been getting the most action probably just based on the last game,” Scucci said.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.