Thanks to the Denver Broncos‘ stunning 38-35 double overtime loss at the hands of the suddenly resurgent Baltimore Ravens, Vegas books narrowly avoided yet another nauseating weekend at the books, finishing the action on the plus side of the ledger. Saturday’s divisional round action saw the books win big thanks to the Broncos and the Green Bay Packers losing their divisional games against the Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, respectively.
Talking to Micah Roberts of SportingNews, South Point sports book director Ben Osborne commented on the positive vibes the books got off to after the Broncos let a late 7-point lead disappear thanks to a miraculous 70-yard touchdown by Joe Flacco and Jacoby Jones. “When Denver lost, it gave us a head start on being able to beat most of the teasers and money-line parlays,” Osborne said. Had the Broncos won by four – not even covering the spread – it would have been a complete disaster Sunday with the Patriots result.“
Speaking of that Patriots-Texans game, the books’ wave of momentum came crashing down after New England, with an estimated 70% of the money being wagered on them, handily covered the 9.5-point spread on their way to disposing the Houston Texans 41-28. That result, together with the game easily going over the 50.5 total and the 13/5 odds a two-way parlay from those picks generated, could have spelled another doom and gloom week for the books.
Even the Atlanta Falcons – Seattle Seahawks game, arguably the best of what turned out to be a great weekend of football action, wasn’t too kind to the books. The popular pick heading into that game were the 3-point-underdog Seahawks and after the Falcons raced to a 20-0 halftime, it seemed like the pigskin was finally bouncing the books’ way. But all that changed when Seattle stormed back in the second half, even taking a one-point lead in the last 30 seconds thanks to a Marshawn Lynch touchdown. Though the Falcons ended up winning on a last-second field goal, the 30-28 final score ended up costing the books a whole lot more from those Seahawks-Patriots parlays that ended up being a miracle hit.
The books, incidentally, also lost on the totals over the weekend as all four games hit the over a week after all the wild card games stayed under their respective numbers. The 4-0 over slate meant that the always popular over parlays paid handsomely to all those who went for doubles, trebles, and four folds.
But in the end, the books ended up staying in the black after all the games ended. It could’ve been a lot worse – catastrophic even – had the Broncos won their game. But in times like this, you take a win any way you can get it.
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