In a span of less than 17 hours starting Christmas Eve, the bettor went from the cusp of being the sole Circa Survivor contest winner to being eliminated.
NFL
For every bad beat, there’s a miracle cover, and that’s what Raiders bettors got Sunday in one of the most bizarre endings to a game in NFL history.
Bettors backed the Raiders for the first time in three weeks and had their faith rewarded, as the Raiders won and covered in a 27-20 victory over the Chargers.
The roars from the crowd at the Red Rock Resort sportsbook came one after another late Sunday afternoon as the NFL took fans and bettors on another thrill ride.
Eleven of the 74 remaining entrants in the Circa Survivor contest, which pays $6.1 million to the winner, might be too stressed to properly enjoy their Thanksgiving feast.
There were several lessons to be learned by bettors on an NFL Sunday won by the sportsbooks. One is that when a line doesn’t look right, it’s probably right on the money.
With apologies to Winston Churchill, halfway through the NFL season, handicapping the league remains a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
While 6,010 entries from the field of 6,133 have been eliminated, Bob DeLuca still has all six of his entries in Circa Survivor, which pays $6.1 million to the winner.
Bettors loaded up on the Raiders (-1½) over the Saints and the game to go over 48½. But they never stood a chance on either count in a 24-0 loss.
For the past two decades, bettors could count on Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers to bounce back from a loss and not only win the next week, but cover. Those days are gone.
Caesars Sportsbook alone lost almost seven figures on the Raiders, and BetMGM lost six figures. The Westgate SuperBook and South Point reported losing days.
The Raiders are the only 0-3 team in the NFL, and the AFC West is a combined 5-7 straight-up and 3-6 ATS. The division also has gone under in eight of 12 games.
Miami, which closed as a 4½-point underdog, was one of eight underdogs that won outright Sunday and among nine that covered (9-4-1 against the spread).
San Francisco’s odds to win the Super Bowl dropped from 25-1 at Caesars Sportsbook to 19-1 after Jimmy Garoppolo replaced Trey Lance.
The NFL kicked off the first weekend of the season in style with a tie, four outright upsets, five games decided in the final minute and countless missed kicks.