Caesars Palace, ‘Frank the Clank’ lose prop when kick hits post
When Caesars Palace lost on the prop “Will a kick hit the goal post” in last year’s Super Bowl, sports book director Frank Kunovic was playfully dubbed “Frank the Clank” by his peers.
When Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski hit the post in the second straight Super Bowl on Sunday to again cash Caesars’ prop — which paid plus 330 — Kunovic’s phone lit up.
“No joke. I got like 20 texts immediately with just one word: ‘clank,’ ” Kunovic said.
Caesars lost six figures on the prop, but reported a seven-figure win on the game after taking some big bets on New England shortly before kickoff.
Ham or turkey?
South Point oddsmaker Jimmy Vaccaro (@JimmyVaccaro) tweeted Sunday night that “We ended up winning a ham sandwich on the game.”
Likewise, MGM Resorts sports book director Jay Rood said Monday that his 10 locations on the Strip were a small winner on the day despite paying out a $3 million wager on the Eagles.
“We were able to fade most of the liability on the big bet. It was not great but we survived,” he said. “The props were ugly. The game was not good for us. The only thing that saved the day was we did well on the first half and we did well on halftime. It could’ve been a lot worse.
“(Vacccaro) might be talking about a Subway ham sandwich. We probably won a Capriotti’s Bobbie.”
No safety dance
Historically popular long-shot bets that there will be a safety and overtime were about the only props that bettors didn’t cash in a game that featured 74 points and an NFL-record 1,151 yards of offense. But a South Point bettor won $4,000 on two bets totaling $29,000 that there would not be a safety or overtime. A William Hill bettor also won $2,428 on a $17,000 wager on no safety (minus 800).
Super Bowl LIII odds
The Westgate sports book has posted the AFC as a 1-point favorite over the NFC in Super Bowl LIII, which will be played on Feb. 3, 2019, in Atlanta. The total is 52.
The Patriots are the 5-1 favorites at the Westgate to win next season’s NFL title, followed by the Eagles and Steelers at 7-1, and the Vikings and Packers at 12-1. The Raiders are 20-1.
A Westgate bettor made a “decent-sized” wager Monday on Pittsburgh to win the AFC championship. The Steelers are the 7-2 second choice behind New England (5-2).
Patriots’ reign over?
“That might be the end of the Patriots’ reign in the AFC,” Westgate sports book manager Ed Salmons said. “The only thing they have going for them is their division is just horrendous. There are a lot of teams in the AFC that look like they’re definitely on the come.”
Salmons singled out the Texans, Jaguars, Colts, Chargers and Chiefs as teams on the rise.
Back to the futures
The day after the Super Bowl usually generates the largest betting handle for futures.
“All the tourists make futures bets on every possible sport on their way out of town,” Salmons said.
Winter Olympics
Lost money on the Super Bowl? You can try to recoup it on the Winter Olympics, where the United States is a 15-1 long shot at the Westgate to win the gold medal in men’s curling and 10-1 to win the gold in men’s hockey.
Snowboarder Shaun White is the plus 125 favorite to win gold in the men’s halfpipe and the U.S. is the minus 150 favorite to win gold in women’s hockey.
The U.S. is the 9-2 third choice to win the most gold medals behind Norway (minus 160) and Germany (plus 120).
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
