Someone knew something.
A bettor unfamiliar to longtime oddsmaker Chris Andrews strolled into the South Point on Thursday, March 10 looking to place a wager on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the Super Bowl.
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With Tom Brady retired and the South Point sitting at 50-1 odds for the Bucs, Andrews was happy to take what he told VSiN was a "big bet" on Tampa Bay to hoist next year's Lombardi Trophy, and move the odds to 30-1.
A few hours later, the same bettor returned to place a small wager on the Bucs, this time at 25-1.
"At this point, I'm thinking, 'This is kind of interesting,'" Andrews told VSiN on Sunday night.
Andrews took the bet and lowered the odds to 25-1. Later in the day, the bettor returned to place another large wager on Tampa Bay at 25-1. After that wager, Andrews moved the odds all the way down to 15-1.
When Brady announced he was unretiring and returning for a 23rd season on Sunday, Andrews moved the odds all the way to %plussign% 400.
"We're well into six-figure liability now," Andrews told VSiN on Sunday night. "I've been on the right side of many Brady games over the years, but at this point any goodwill is out the window."
Other sportsbooks didn't see the same volume of bets on the Bucs, although there was a large wager in New Jersey.
Borgata sportsbook director Thomas Gable told VSiN that a bettor wagered $10,000 on the Bucs to win the Super Bowl last Thursday at his book in New Jersey. Unlike at the South Point, though, it was a bettor familiar to Gable — and one whose opinion on the NFL he respects.
BetMGM reported only 1.2% of bets and 1.3% of its total Super Bowl futures handle was on Tampa Bay on Sunday night. DraftKings head of sportsbook operations Johnny Avello told VSiN that there were "certainly some bettors pecking away at [Tampa Bay]. It felt like they knew it was going to happen."
DraftKings lowered Tampa Bay's Super Bowl odds from 25-1 to %plussign% 750 on Sunday night.
