It's finally almost time for the big game. Oh, wait, I guess since I make zero dollars from this I am allowed to use the words super and bowl to describe the game. That's right, Super Bowl week is upon us. As a sidenote, in case you aren't aware, the NFL does have the term Super Bowl trademarked, which is why everyone now just calls it the big game. Only a matter of time until the NFL owns the trademark on that phrase too...ridiculous. But I digress. It's a very big week here in Vegas, and with the Packers and Steelers in this years Championship game, the sports books are anticipating their biggest handle ever on one game. In an effort to increase that handle books have offered prop bets for years, and every year there seems to be more than the previous year. For instance, the Superbook at the Hilton Hotel and Casino has 25 pages of prop bets. 25 PAGES!!! Today I will share a few of these with you to give you an idea of what's going on, and yes, there is a bet on whether the coin toss will be heads or tails. I will go through the entire packet and pick what I think is the oddest prop on each page. Page one is fairly normal, with the actual game and first half lines on it. It also contains the special pointspreads, most appealing to me is the Steelers -10.5 that is paying out +550. An exciting choice on page 2 is which team will use a coach's challenge first. Page 3 offers an equally exciting prop, distance of the first punt of the game: over or under 44.5 yards while page 4 gives us will there be a safety. I enjoy this bet because the payout on yes is +850 since there have only been two in the history of the Super Bowl, none since Super Bowl XXI. On Page 5 I like, "total number of different players to have passing attempt." Pages 6 and 7 are boring, just props on individual Steelers players, but page 8 has "total number of different Steelers to have a rushing attempt." On page 9 you can bet how many 3rd down conversions the Steelers will have while pages 10 and 11 give us props on individual Packers players. Page 12 provides us with "total first downs by Green Bay Packers" with the total provided as 18.5 and page 13 has total net yards by both teams. The interesting part of that prop is the total given is 666.5. On page 14 you can choose from one of many player vs. player props, for instance, most points: Shaun Suisham(PIT) or Mason Crosby(GB), with Suisham getting .5 point. Things really get interesting on page 15. This is where the creativity of the Hilton Superbook shows. You can bet who will have more, Blake Griffin points or Packers Points. And yes, that is Blake Griffin of the Clippers...an NBA team. On the next page you can bet if Jrue Holiday of the 76ers has more points than the lead by either team in the Super Bowl. Seriously...Jrue Holiday. Here is a fun one from page 17, "who will have more?": Big Ten points(-40.5) or Packers net yards. Good luck handicapping that one. I particularly enjoy page 18 where I can bet whether or not West Ham and Birmingham City will combine for more goals than Aaron Rodgers throws touchdown passes. Since I'm pretty sure everyone reading this is American, those teams mentioned are members of the Barclay's Premier League...that's soccer over in England. Page 19 has a few fun props, my favorite being the margin of victory. You can bet the Steelers win by 34-38 points and get 100 to 1 on your money. Similar bets on page 20, including choosing the final score for each team. If you bet either team landing on 2, and you are right, you get paid 9999 to 1...good luck. The rest of the pages are dedicated to individual players yet again, this time betting on how many yards a player will gain in most instances. As you can see, there is something for everyone when it comes to betting on the big game. For those of you having or attending a party to watch the game, these can be some fun items to watch for or even bet on with your friends. Feel free to contact me if you would like even more examples.
We went 1-1 this past weekend, continuing to tread water. I haven't looked at anything for the upcoming week, but I know for sure I will be betting on the Lightning of the NHL in their first game out of the All Star Break. They are ridiculously good with 2 or more days off this year, so I'll bet the trend continues. Good luck, and remember, never bet what you can't afford to lose.
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