Super Bowl LIII, which took place on Sunday in Atlanta, was terrible. Won by the New England Patriots, 13-3 over the Los Angeles Rams, it was an ugly battle between two of the league’s top four defenses. And no, unlike in baseball, where a pitcher’s duel can be a treat to watch, this defensive slugfest was just gross. Thank goodness for gambling to make things interesting. I, myself, did not place any bets, but at least my son had fun making choices on a myriad of prop bets for fun. Though not for money, they kept him engaged until bedtime. One man, though, only known as “Bettor X,” not only wagered a ton of money on the Super Bowl, but he lost big, to the tune of at least $3.8 million.
Spread the Losses Around
ESPN.com’s David Purdum reported on Sunday that three Las Vegas sportsbooks reported three enormous bets by the same person. The first was on Thursday at an MGM Resorts book, where Bettor X put $2 million on the Rams’ money-line, which was +120, which meant the Rams were the underdogs. On Friday, he put another $1.5 million on the Rams money-line with William Hill and then a short time later, he added another $300,000 Rams money-line bet at South Point Casino.
As mentioned above, the Rams lost, and since the money-line bets were simply betting on the winner, Bettor X lost all $3.8 million. And that was just the total that has been reported; he may have bet more elsewhere. Had he bet on the Rams with the point spread, he would have lost, too, as they were a 2.5 point underdog. Had the outcome been in Bettor X’s favor, he would have won $4.56 million.
Purdum wrote that most of the early money was bet on the Patriots, though many large bets were placed late on the Rams. That said, more money was riding on the Patriots, so the sportsbooks wanted the Rams to cover the spread.
He Could Afford to Lose
It’s not all bad for Bettor X, though. He is a known quantity in Nevada and has a history of going all-in, so to speak, on major U.S. sporting events. He won $10 million betting on the 2017 World Series between the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers. There is no word on exactly what bets he placed, but for reference, going into the World Series, the Dodgers were the favorites with a money-line of -140. The Astros were +120. Bettor X may have bet on individual games, though, and since the Series went seven games, there were plenty of opportunities.
He also bet between $8 million and $10 million on the Philadelphia Eagles to beat the Patriots in last year’s Super Bowl. The Eagles were 5.5 point underdogs, particularly because they were riding the arm of backup quarterback, Nick Foles. As it turned out, Foles was spectacular and went on to win the Super Bowl MVP trophy.
Despite the losses Bettor X took over the weekend, he is still up more than $20 million since the 2017 World Series.