Books ‘conservatively’ adjust based on Favre news
Las Vegas sports books were busy Tuesday morning after reports surfaced that Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre is retiring again.
Five weeks remain before the Vikings face the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints in the NFL season opener Sept. 9, but Favre is infamous for waffling on his retirement decisions.
"We're moving forward, but conservatively moving forward, because it is Brett Favre," Las Vegas Hilton sports book director Jay Kornegay said. "There is still a slight chance in two or three weeks that he'll change his mind."
Favre has considered retiring every summer since 2002 and last year didn't join the Vikings until after training camp.
The Hilton took all bets involving the Vikings off the board early Tuesday before adjusting them based on the Favre news.
The Saints, 4-point favorites over Minnesota since April, are now favored by 6½. Kornegay said he thinks the line would be 7 or 7½ if not for Favre's history of indecision.
At the Hilton, Green Bay moved from a 6-5 favorite to 5-8 to win the NFC North this season, and Minnesota's odds went from 7-5 to 14-5.
Green Bay, New Orleans and Dallas were 9-2 favorites to win the NFC and improved to 7-2 Tuesday afternoon, and the Vikings' odds rose from 5-1 to 10-1. Green Bay, New Orleans and Dallas went from 9-1 to 8-1 to win the Super Bowl, and the Vikings moved from 12-1 to 20-1.
Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.
