Maybe the house doesn't always win? Super Bowl LVIII was a good day for the public as they enjoyed some notable wins across sportsbooks with Kansas City's victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs were a 2-point underdog going into this game with the total closing in at 46.5. The majority of the handle was on K.C. and the over, and sportsbooks were sitting pretty for most of the game with the Niners entering halftime up by seven and only 13 points scored.
However, the Chiefs rallied in the second half to not only edge out the win, but also help hit the over on the total. This victory moved Patrick Mahomes to 11-1-1 ATS as an underdog in his career.
"We lost on the game itself," Westgate SuperBook vice president Jay Kornegay said, via the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "It was a big swing for us with the Chiefs winning. We needed the 49ers going into it."
Caesars vice president of trading Craid Mucklow added, "The sharps were on the 49ers, and the public was on the Chiefs. It was a great comeback by the public on the game."
While it was a low-scoring game for much of the evening, things ramped up after a muffed punt by the 49ers, which led to the Chiefs' first touchdown of the game on the following play. That kicked off five straight scoring drives to end regulation and send the game to overtime. There, a Niners field goal and Chiefs touchdowns helped the total land at 47. There was also a missed extra point from 49ers kicker Jake Moody early in the fourth quarter that also could've proved costly to bettors. Leading up to the Super Bowl, the total had hovered around 47.5, but closed at 46.5. Depending on when folks made the wager, going to overtime proved to be a major swing.
Per the Review-Journal, the game going to overtime resulted in a multimillion-dollar loss for books. The prop paid roughly 9/1 and Caesars lost seven figures on it alone.
"We definitely cringed when we saw it shaping up as an overtime game," Kornegay said of Westgate's hit with the game going to OT. "Overall the game was really going our way. It was low scoring, somewhat uneventful, and it looked like the 49ers were going to win. Then the game goes into overtime, and it all fell apart from there.
One winner for the books was Travis Kelce not scoring a touchdown in this Super Bowl. At one point last week (Feb. 6), Caesars Sportsbook noted that there were more wagers on Kelce anytime touchdown (-105) than wagers on the 49ers ML and spread combined.
