Record-high total stays same after Chiefs-Rams game moved to LA
What is believed to be the highest total in NFL history essentially stayed the same at Las Vegas sports books after the much-anticipated Rams-Chiefs “Monday Night Football” matchup was moved from Mexico City to Los Angeles.
The Rams were 2½-point favorites over the Chiefs and the consensus total was 63 on Tuesday before the NFL announced the site change because of poor field conditions at Estadio Azteca. The game was taken off the board at the books for a short time Tuesday afternoon, then reopened with Los Angeles a slightly larger favorite because of its home-field advantage.
The Westgate reopened the matchup of explosive 9-1 teams with the Rams as 3½-point favorites and a total of 63½. William Hill reopened Los Angeles as a 4-point favorite with a total of 64.
“We already wrote a lot of money on the over,” William Hill sports book director Nick Bogdanovich said. “I just know come Monday night, we’re going to need the under.”
Depending on their house rules, some books will refund all wagers made before the site change, while others will consider previous bets action.
For example, William Hill and the Westgate will refund all wagers made before the site change per the house rule that states “if any change in venue occurs from the originally scheduled venue, there will be ‘no action’ and wagers will be fully refunded.”
The rule also applies to thousands of parlay cards printed Tuesday for William Hill.
“It’s terrible,” Bogdanovich said. “It’s not good for the book or the customer.”
On the flip side, wagers placed on the game before it was moved are still action at Station Casinos and Caesars Entertainment sports books.
“Our house rules state that if it’s a date change, there’s no action, but if there’s a location change, they still have action,” Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito said.
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Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
