Not only is Sunday the actual Super Bowl, which will determine an NFL champion, it’s also the figurative “Super Bowl” for casual and sharp bettors across the country.
According to the American Gaming Association, a record 68 million Americans wagered an estimated $23 billion on last year’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas — both formally through legal sportsbooks and casually between friends.
With the proliferation of legal gambling options for bettors and football fans, the total handle for this year’s championship is sure to increase.
Chad Millman, Chief Content Officer at the Action Network, sat down with Craig Mucklow, Vice President of Trading at Caesars Entertainment, Inc., to gain a better understanding of where public and sharp money is landing ahead of the Kansas City vs. Philadelphia rematch.
Mucklow underscored that there are a mere 3,000 ways to bet this year’s Super Bowl at Caesars Sportsbook, and that there are seven-figure liabilities on multiple markets.
Mucklow was quick to highlight superstar anytime touchdown tickets.
“The public and the professionals are all over Saquon Barkley markets,” Mucklow said. “Literally, the ticket count is unbelievable. Just on his anytime touchdown score. There are more tickets on him than the Chiefs and the Eagles combined on the spread and the moneyline. That's how crazy it is.”
Mucklow also mentioned the immense liability on a 60/1 anytime touchdown same-game parlay that includes Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith to all score a touchdown. Mucklow said that is the most bet-on SGP at Caesars Sportsbook.
“It doesn't take big amounts of money to put on," he said of the above same-game parlay. "It's small dollars, big return."
Furthermore, Mucklow suggested that there’s a discrepancy between where public and professional money is falling in terms of the spread and total. According to Mucklow, the public is on the Chiefs, while the sharps are betting the Eagles and the under, which is at 48.5 points at most sportsbooks.
“The sharps, until Wednesday, were very quiet and then we saw a run of Eagles bets,” he said. “[We saw] three $100,000 wagers on the Eagles, and then somebody was brave enough here to put $110,000 on under 49.5 at this book.”
The balance could shift up until kickoff, as Mucklow hinted at several six-figure bets that may come in on Mahomes and the Chiefs to make history and three-peat as Super Bowl champions.
Even though the Eagles are perhaps the better team top to bottom, public and sharp bettors alike are having a hard time betting against the clutchest quarterback and team in the sport.
“I make the Eagles the better team on my numbers,” Mucklow said, “but there’s a certain Patrick Mahomes ‘je ne sais quoi.’”
