Vegas sportsbooks made a killing on the Super Bowl, as you would expect. However, they didn’t make as much money as they could have due to the game going into overtime, per ESPN.
The Chiefs beat the 49ers 25-22, needing an extra period to do so, leaving Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy half a million dollars richer. It marked just the second time in Super Bowl history in which overtime was required to settle a game.
The game went on for a bit longer than the bookies expected and, given the number of prop bets available, plenty of fans took advantage of odds on whether an overtime would be attached at the end of the fourth quarter.
Of course, it was a risk as only one other Super Bowl went into overtime. But those who took the gamble found that it paid off, leaving Vegas a bit worse off than they would have been otherwise.
Caesars Sportsbook told ESPN that the extra period “produced the biggest loss of any of the thousands of prop bets it offered” as odds of 10/1 were on offer.
Even so, the bookmakers raked in mega profits as a record amount of $185.6 million was bet on the game, with a collective $6.8 million going to the sportsbooks.
