Yahoo Lifestyle Super Bowl LIV betting roundup: One bettor wagered millions on 49ers and unders, and had to feel sick after
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — One big San Francisco 49ers bettor had to feel confident midway through the fourth quarter.
And somehow, he lost a fortune.
MGM Resorts International director of trading operations Jeff Stoneback confirmed through a spokesman that one bettor had more than $2.1 million on the 49ers and over bets in Super Bowl LIV. That bettor placed $500,000 on the first-half over of 26.5 points. That lost when the halftime score was 10-10. A controversial offensive pass interference call on 49ers tight end George Kittle with six seconds left eliminated any chance of the first-half over hitting.
The under covered easily. But the bettor could have at least recovered some with a 49ers win, and that looked likely when San Francisco led 20-10 in the fourth quarter.
And then Kansas City rallied.
The Chiefs looked like they were in trouble with a little more than seven minutes left, facing a third-and-15, trailing 20-10. But Patrick Mahomes hit Tyreek Hill for a 44-yard gain. Kansas City also got a first down on a defensive pass interference penalty on third-and-10. That set up a 1-yard touchdown by tight end Travis Kelce.
Then the 49ers went three-and-out and the Chiefs drove down the field and Damien Williams scored a controversial touchdown. With 2:44 left, the Chiefs had a 24-20 lead. The Chiefs held on to win, though another late touchdown by Williams made under bettors sweat.
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The Chiefs opened as 1-point favorites. It moved to 1.5 on a $550,000 bet by a Chiefs backer and stayed there. That bettor had to feel very good with the reversal of fortune. The Chiefs closed as a 1.5-point favorite at kickoff.
The term “bad beat” is probably overused. The Chiefs didn’t get a miracle to win, or some fluky play. One of the best quarterbacks in the NFL made some enormous plays to rally his team back in the final seven minutes. That technically isn’t a bad beat.
But for the many 49ers bettors who had a 10-point lead with seven minutes left — especially one who went really big on the 49ers and the over — it probably felt like the worst of beats.
‘Mattress Mack’ loses big again on Chiefs
This week, a $1 million bet came in at MGM on the 49ers moneyline. It was from “Mattress Mack,” the Action Network said.
You may remember “Mattress Mack,” the Houston-based owner of Gallery Furniture whose name is Jim McIngvale, from some other massive gambling losses. He lost nearly $12 million in futures bets on the Houston Astros last baseball season. Then he decided to keep betting against the Chiefs in the playoffs.
“Mattress Mack” bet $1 million against the Chiefs in the divisional round, AFC championship and again in the Super Bowl. That made the Chiefs’ run to their first Super Bowl in 50 years a costly one for McIngvale.
Super Bowl LIV is an ‘under’ for bettors
The over/under for the game mostly bounced between 53.5 and 54.5 points since it was posted after the conference championship games. Just before the game, MGM took a six-figure bet on over 53.5 points. The line ended up closing at 53 despite that big bet.
The 49ers led 20-10 after three quarters, putting the game well on pace for the under. When a Chiefs drive in the fourth quarter marched into 49ers territory but ended with Mahomes’ second interception, under bettors celebrated even more.
A late rally by the Chiefs threatened the total. Kansas City scored three touchdowns in the final seven minutes, including one with 1:12 left when it could have run out the clock. But there was no bad beat for under bettors in the last minute, as Jimmy Garoppolo’s deep pass was picked off with 57 seconds left.
Patrick Mahomes TD run hurts sportsbooks
Even though MGM was well aware that the first touchdown scored in the Super Bowl is the most popular prop bet just about every year, and most of the action usually is on the quarterbacks, Mahomes was still 21-to-1 to be the first player to score for most of the week, though it closed at 12-to-1 with a lot of action on the Chiefs quarterback.
That meant a lot of bettors were happy when Mahomes scored the first touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run late in the first quarter. That was a bit of a bad beat for the sportsbooks, considering Mahomes has scored only four touchdowns in 31 regular-season games. MGM executive director of public relations Scott Ghertner said Mahomes scoring the first touchdown was a “low six-figure decision” for the sportsbook.
Mahomes’ interception, the first of his postseason career, also cashed a few props. Mahomes throwing an interception before a touchdown pass opened at 3-to-1 at MGM.
LeSean McCoy deactivated, bets refunded
McCoy hasn’t been a big part of the Chiefs offense this season, and anyone who thought he’d have a throwback game in Super Bowl LIV was disappointed before kickoff.
The Chiefs deactivated McCoy for the game. McCoy was 150-to-1 to win Super Bowl MVP and 40-to-1 to score the game’s first touchdown. When McCoy was deactivated, all McCoy prop bets at MGM were refunded.
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