The "Fun" of Sports Betting
A couple of the bets from the first round of the NCAA tournament had some crazy finishes.
Trailing favored Notre Dame by five in overtime, Butler's Kameron Woods dunked with two seconds left to make the final score 67-64. The Irish were 4.5-point favorites. "Last night was nuts with the ending to the Notre Dame game. Heartbreaker for the [betting] players," Jay Rood (vice president of race and sports for MGM) said Sunday. "That was a seven-figure swing."
That means that the betting public (more often going with the favorite, in this case, Notre Dame) could have won $1 million plus more than the sports book won. The sports book doesn't always want a 50-50 split on the games. Sometimes they get these outcomes and pocket more money.
As another example, Georgetown's Jabril Trawick dunked with one second left to polish off the Hoyas' 84-74 win over Eastern Washington. Georgetown was an 8-point favorite. Jason Simbal (CG Technology vice president of risk management) said Trawick's dunk caused a $250,000 swing at his book. So the betting public ended up winning that one instead of pushing.
The biggest issue for the sports books, though, is Kentucky winning the national championship. They would go undefeated for the season if they win it all. Last summer, William Hill opened Kentucky at 50-1 to go undefeated. In August, there was a $500 bet on "Yes" at 50-1; in September, a $2,550 bet on "Yes" at 20-1 was placed; and money kept pouring in on "Yes." By the time the book closed the prop, 94 percent of the bets were on "Yes," and the odds were close to even. But the money tells a different story.
The prop closed with the book facing a "pretty good six-figure" liability on Kentucky. Never fear, though, William Hill will survive if the Wildcats win. There will be opportunities to hedge and mitigate the liability during the tournament, but it is the largest single decision on a prop the book has faced, William Hill spokesman Michael Grodsky said.
Trailing favored Notre Dame by five in overtime, Butler's Kameron Woods dunked with two seconds left to make the final score 67-64. The Irish were 4.5-point favorites. "Last night was nuts with the ending to the Notre Dame game. Heartbreaker for the [betting] players," Jay Rood (vice president of race and sports for MGM) said Sunday. "That was a seven-figure swing."
That means that the betting public (more often going with the favorite, in this case, Notre Dame) could have won $1 million plus more than the sports book won. The sports book doesn't always want a 50-50 split on the games. Sometimes they get these outcomes and pocket more money.
As another example, Georgetown's Jabril Trawick dunked with one second left to polish off the Hoyas' 84-74 win over Eastern Washington. Georgetown was an 8-point favorite. Jason Simbal (CG Technology vice president of risk management) said Trawick's dunk caused a $250,000 swing at his book. So the betting public ended up winning that one instead of pushing.
The biggest issue for the sports books, though, is Kentucky winning the national championship. They would go undefeated for the season if they win it all. Last summer, William Hill opened Kentucky at 50-1 to go undefeated. In August, there was a $500 bet on "Yes" at 50-1; in September, a $2,550 bet on "Yes" at 20-1 was placed; and money kept pouring in on "Yes." By the time the book closed the prop, 94 percent of the bets were on "Yes," and the odds were close to even. But the money tells a different story.
The prop closed with the book facing a "pretty good six-figure" liability on Kentucky. Never fear, though, William Hill will survive if the Wildcats win. There will be opportunities to hedge and mitigate the liability during the tournament, but it is the largest single decision on a prop the book has faced, William Hill spokesman Michael Grodsky said.
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