Iowa State opened -1 over Miami in Friday’s Sweet 16 game. But the favorite quickly flipped, as sharp bets on the Hurricanes at Las Vegas sportsbooks made them -2½.
Betting
About 15 minutes after the NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed, the South Point sportsbook posted lines on the first 32 games, and sharp bettors promptly fired away.
Las Vegas sportsbooks won millions Sunday when the Rams defeated the Bengals, but didn’t cover the 4½-point spread and the game stayed under the total of 48½.
About 25 bettors lined up at the Westgate SuperBook and were allowed to place two maximum wagers to win $2,000 each before heading to the back of the line to do it again.
Bettors loaded up on the Raiders and won big when they advanced to the playoffs with an overtime win over the Chargers. BetMGM alone lost almost $1 million on the game.
The betting public was all over the Colts in a game that saw the line soar to 8½ on Sunday when Indianapolis quarterback Carson Wentz was cleared to play.
Alabama is a 13½-point favorite over Cincinnati in Friday’s CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, and Georgia is a 7½-point favorite over Michigan at the Orange Bowl.
The Houston Texans’ upset helped Las Vegas sportsbooks to a small winning day despite the fact that double-digit favorites went 4-1 ATS and favorites went 7-4 ATS overall.
BetMGM and Caesars each reported a seven-figure loss, the SuperBook reported a six-figure loss and Station Casinos also reported a big losing day capped by the Packers’ 45-30 win and cover over the Bears on “Sunday Night Football.”
Based on a parlay of each team’s conference futures at BetMGM — where the Bucs are +210 favorites to win the NFC and the Pats are the +450 third pick to win the AFC — the odds are 16-1 that the matchup happens.
In the first seven weeks of the season, there were only two outright upsets by underdogs of seven points or more. But there have been nine such upsets in the last four weeks.
Underdogs went 9-3 ATS with seven outright wins, including upsets by the Jaguars (+16) over the Bills and Broncos (+10) over the Cowboys.
NFL Sunday on Halloween was a veritable house of horrors for bettors as the books won big to snap a rare losing streak. BetMGM reported close to a multimillion-dollar win.
Caesars Sportsbook and BetMGM each reported multimillion-dollar losses, and the South Point, Station Casinos and Westgate SuperBook also suffered their worst losing day of the season.
Houston furniture store owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale bet $3.35 million in June to win $35.6 million on the Astros to win the World Series.