Super Bowl XLV Betting Notes From Las Vegas: Coast Resorts Join South Point at -3

By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

Saturday - 12:50 pm

The "3" Train is coming through Las Vegas Sports Books

The South Point has remained steady at minus-3 flat on the Packers since 6:07 pm Friday after seven separate moves on the day hop-scotching from -2 ½ to -3. This is the longest stretch of time that has passed without a move since they started maneuvering on Thursday, which leads me to believe they have satisfied most of the sharp large money’s thirst for Steelers +3 flat.

Over at the M Resort, they moved from Packers -2 ½, -132 to -135 at 9:30 am as Green Bay money keeps coming in. Everyone else in town is staying put at -2 ½ (-120) and most are suggesting they don’t foresee any changes despite the South Point’s stance locally.

Bob Scucci, Race and Sports Director for the Coast Resorts, said things were a bit slow the last couple of days because many of his expected guests were delayed due to weather in the Midwest and Canada, but that the action has been steady since last night once they all arrived.

“We actually have more tickets on the Steelers, but the average wager on the Packers far outweighs what we have on the Steelers. We had taken several six-figure bets on the Packers early on.”

At the time of talking with Scucci, he didn’t foresee his chain of sports books needing to move to -3 if the current rate of action continued. “We’ve got a large enough handle on the Steelers money-line to offset a lot of the risk we have on the point spread money differential with the Packers. The ideal situation for us would be to have the Packers win by one or two points.”

Shortly after our conversation, however, something substantial occurred forcing Scucci to make a move becoming the second property to jump aboard the “3” train as his sports books moved to Packers -3 (EVEN).

Equal action coming on game now 

Scucci added that one of the more popular bets taken has been a two-team parlay with the OVER to either side. Should the game go UNDER, those parlay funds will also go a long way to deflect any loss that may be incurred should the Packers cover.

The Venetian/Palazzo Race and Sports Director Chuck Esposito is in the same boat as many others around town who don’t anticipate needing to go minus-3.

“Over the last couple days, with 24 hours to go, we’ve seen a lot more Steelers action come our way at +2 ½ (EVEN). During the first week, we saw about a 5-to-1 ratio in ticket counts taking the Packers and that figure has been reduced to about 3-to-1. The same goes for the total. We had a lot of players going with the UNDER early on, but have seen it shift towards the OVER.”

That’s kind of been the theme throughout Las Vegas, in particular the strip properties. Sports Books are seeing Steelers money more frequently now, but they’re still quite long on the other side from all the early action on the Packers.

So far we have only two books at -3, but by Sunday morning I would expect to see several more make the jump. Even if some make the move, it may be too late because of the large Steelers money already being spent at the South Point Thursday and Friday meaning that several sports book Directors will be waving Terrible Towels tomorrow. Stay tuned for the final update tomorrow.


Great Places To Watch The Super Bowl in Las Vegas
Here’s a quick look at some of the most fun places to watch the game at Sunday if you haven’t already made plans. The sports books are all going to be jammed. Several of them who have used their show rooms with giant screens all season for NFL games can use them for the Super Bowl per the NFL. Casino’s looking to use a show room with a giant screen exclusively for the Super Bowl are prohibited with threat of litigation from the NFL.

Lagasse' Stadium is a great place to watch big games

Places like the Hilton and South Point have been running weekly parties all season in their show rooms and provide and an excellent environment with their HD movie screen. The crowds are very large, but are contained well making it comfortable even for those who hate large crowds.

On a smaller scale, all of the 34 PT’s Taverns spread across town will be offering all you can eat stadium buffets for $15 will HD screens all over the place.

There aren’t many places better than Lagasse’s Stadium inside the Palazzo where Esposito runs a sports book out of. The double-decker palace of sports viewing has 109 flat screens spread throughout, including a monster video wall in front of where the stadium seating is.

Another amenity for players at both the Venetian and Palazzo is being able to play Cantor Gaming’s In-Running wagering with a hand held device. No waiting in lines; you can just sit there and wager on just about anything -- including casino games -- from the comfort of your luxurious seat on every play if desired.

I will be at the NASCAR Café at the Sahara with ESPN Radio’s Brian Blessing. For $60 you can eat and drink all you want beginning at 1 pm. Blessing will also be giving away hundreds of prizes all game that include UNLV tickets, concerts, movie premieres and commemorative t-shirts. Everyone in attendance will get something.