In case you haven’t heard, the Super Bowl props are out. If you don’t know what the props are, they are bets on the game that are not:
side (team +/- points)
total (over/under)
money line (team win/lose no pts)
Anything and everything, including..
the coin flip (not just heads or tails, but which team wins it & whether they will defer or not), or who is going to win the MVP..
Every year, the books try to top one another with these prop offerings, and it can get pretty silly..
But you know the old adage in the casino..
business..if it didn’t make money, they wouldn’t offer it..
For some books, the prop handle will equal or surpass the handle on the game..think about that..
A bunch of propositions like how many receiving yards will Travis Kelce have along with the rest of the props make up..
half or more of the money wagered on the game..
The limits on the props are two dimes at the best books, sometimes three..
The limit on the game..well..I thought it was a million in most books, but already, a couple days ago, someone bet $2.3M at a BetMGM place so there..
goes that theory..
I posed the question when I saw it, asking “Do you think that will be the biggest single bet reported on the Super Bowl?”
That’s a big number..and for all you experts that say “the books always win, blah, blah, blah (not always, but a lot 😂), imagine..
being the guy on the other side of that one..
Sitting there on a nothing Wednesday afternoon, eleven days before the Super Bowl, eating Jack in the Box at your desk, wondering when Drake is not going to cover a game, and then BOOM, it pops up on your screen..
Ideally, you..
would get a phone call first to alert you, but NO was -185 on the phone call coming first..
Instead, a box appears on the screen and the info on the bet..
“Bucs +3.5-115 2,300,000/2,000,000”
This happened to me, albeit not at this number, but over the limit bets would pop..
up on the regular..
There are no shortage of people on a daily basis looking to take their shot..there are also many people working in books all over that, despite being there for three years, have not a clue what the limit is and do not care..
I have seen bets hit my screen..
that are clearly wrong, but the writer who sent it is half asleep, still hungover or just started last week..
NBA first half over for 20 dimes flat? Limit is 2. They likely fat fingered an extra zero. Think they noticed? Think the guy on the other side of the counter did?
And..
if the customer did, but the writer did not, would they tell them?
You get a free shot on a two dime bet for 20k, the writer goes out short 18k, hoping they don’t get fired (and fired is -2000) and the jagoff in the risk room approved it all..
This scenario is exactly why..
it’s hard to run a book..
Back to the bet..
You are in between bites of your Sourdough Jack, no mayo (I don’t know about you, but I fucking hate mayo) and here it is..
First question, is it a fat finger? Extra zero?
No.
The next steps are different book to book..
Most..
times, the money is counted BEFORE the call is made, or the discussion is had at the counter while the money is being counted..
Bank wires, chips, cage transfers make it all easier, and it won’t be long before there is bitcoin involved..it’s already happening in books all..
over the world..
So, once the discussion is had, the bag is secured, the guy’s info checks out, it comes down to this.
Guy is going to bet $2.3 MILLION DOLLARS on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers +3.5 points at home vs the Kansas City Chiefs & Patrick Mahomes..
Reminds..
me of the movie Speed every time when Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) is holding Harry Temple (Jeff Daniels), and he says to Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves),
“What are you gonna do, hotshot? What are you gonna do?”
I pose you that question..
A lot of people in life could use a..
a daily dose of the Jim Mora quote in their daily lives..
“You think you know, but you don’t know, and you never will.”
I remind myself of this everyday..
In fact, Mrs Consig and the Consig girls remind me of it in case I forget..
“Nobody knows shit“ is the other one..
that will be the cornerstone of the soon to be Consig merch line, coming in 2021..
But now, there is a guy, in one of your book locations, he has the 2.3 mill, it’s confirmed, his ID checks out, he says he wants Bucs +3.5 and it’s your call..
Listen, everybody has a boss, but..
everybody has an ego..
Ideally, everybody has a bonus structure, but you know damn well that ain’t the case either..
You ask your own Consigliere and those closest to you if you want or need a second opinion..
Can you hear it? That’s the Final Jeopardy theme song playing..
And here he is, God rest his soul, Alex Trabek says “what is your final answer?”
Pause.
Breathe.
I know what I would do..
“Print it. It’s good. And send out the bat signal that we are open for business on big KC bets too.”
Some of my favorite places to be are places or venues where people are just people..
Ballgames, the beach & yes, the sportsbook..
People can be just people..
Famous, rich, smart, sexy, doesn’t matter..
Today, I woke up & heard that Larry King died..
and it reminded me of a story..
Back about 14 or 15 years ago, I was working an opening shift in the book downtown at the Golden Nugget..
It was a Wednesday and it was me and Marissa, my Filipino co-worker who was a Keno writer turned sportsbook writer..
Marissa didn’t like..
sports, mornings or people, so she wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine when you worked with her..
There were times I know she was asleep sitting up, and she perfected the art of not speaking English like Sammy Sosa did at the steroid senate hearings..
For as long as I can remember, I have been asked the question “who do you like?”
This goes back to the days before I ever worked in a sportsbook, but even more so over the last two decades in the book..
I don’t ever claim to know anymore than anyone..
else because I have seen “sharp” money lose and “squares” win..honestly, I am and have been over that talk for a long time..
I am no longer surprised by the “who do you like” question, and, in fact, I love it. I love talking to people about it, and I love hearing what people..
say. Sports brings people together, and making plays or having opinions can be fun..
Occasionally, it’s where I get asked the question that is the real story..
On the phone, on the radio, on podcasts, on text or DM, even in the pisser..
In case you have not seen or heard, I got to co host a couple of shows this week on VSIN and SiriusXM on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
Two hours each, in studio, from the sports book at the South Point in Vegas..
The book is a magical place for me,
and it is truly a home away from home..
The studio is amazing, the staff is top notch, and the production is professional..
But the “show” is truly outside the glass walls and sitting in the book, socially distanced of course..
After the show Wednesday, I was watching the..
rare Wednesday NFL game between Ravens and Steelers, and I caught the eyes of a guy walking towards the counter.
Nobody recognizes anybody right now with the masks on, but I knew right away. I slid mine down to reveal my face and yelled out, “Man, they haven’t chased you outta..