The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (%plussign% 3) beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV in a game that stayed Under the closing consensus total of 55 and produced a winning day for many sportsbooks.
Sportsbook report
At PointsBet, 90% of the spread handle was backing Chiefs -3 prior to kickoff and most other sportsbooks reported heavy Kansas City money on the spread, with bettors backing the Tampa Bay moneyline. At William Hill US books, 63% of spread bets and 64% of the money were on the Chiefs -3. Roughly 70% of handle was on the Over at sportsbooks across the country, so a low-scoring game was very much in the bookmakers’ favor.
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“The game was really good for us,” Chris Andrews, sportsbook director at The South Point, told VSiN.
With prop bets comprising more than 50% of the overall handle at some books, sportsbooks also did well on a few notable props. The Under cashing on Tom Brady passing yards (295.5) and Patrick Mahomes passing yards (325.5) was significant at multiple books, along with Tyreek Hill Under receiving yards (93.5) and Tom Brady Under 0.5 rushing yards.
"We were decent winner for the day," Scott Shelton, Mirage shift manager, told VSiN. "We had a lot of big Chiefs money show up late and the under was big as well."
There were six $1 million wagers on Super Bowl LV, listed below:
1. $3.46 million on Bucs %plussign% 3.5 (-127) at DraftKings Sportsbook (Colorado)
2. $2.5 million on Chiefs ML (-165) at BetMGM
3. $2.3 million on Bucs %plussign% 3.5 (-115) at BetMGM
4. $1.16 million on Chiefs ML (-155) at William Hill
5. $1 million on Bucs ML (%plussign% 135) at BetMGM
6. $1 million teaser on Bucs %plussign% 9 and Over 50
The Bucs were the worst-case scenario at several sportsbooks in the Super Bowl futures pool, including BetMGM, which had twice as much liability on Tampa Bay winning the Super Bowl as Kansas City.
“Tampa Bay was the biggest loser for us in the futures in many jurisdictions,” Johnny Avello, DraftKings sportsbook director said on VSiN Sunday night. “Back east, midwest, it seemed like everyone had the Bucs.”
A few other notable bets:
-One bettor at The Borgata in New Jersey wagered $275,000 on the Bucs %plussign% 0.5 (-125) in the first quarter. He won that wager, and then and then rolled his winnings into a $486,000 two-leg parlay of Tampa Bay %plussign% 7.5 in the second half and the second-half under of 28.5. Both legs cashed and the bettor won $1 million.
“We ended in a great position for the full game, but we got crushed on the second half by that parlay that won a million,” Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata told VSiN. “People were also pounding Tampa Bay plus the points on the second-half line. All in all, though, it exceeded my expectations and we wrote more business this year than last year despite restricted capacity.”
-One BetMGM bettor won $8,100 off a $450 bet on Rob Gronkowski to score the game’s first TD at 18-1 odds
-One New Jersey bettor at William Hill wagered $3,000 on Patrick Mahomes to throw zero TD passes at 15-1 odds. He won $45,000 when Mahomes had two INTs and no TD passes.
-A bettor at PointsBet wagered $10,000 that the opening kickoff wouldn’t be returned for a TD. He won $200.
-One New Jersey bettor at William Hill loaded up on Sammy Watkins props. He bet:
$6,666 on Watkins to score first Chiefs TD at 15-1
$4,000 on Watkins to score game's first TD at 25-1
$1,000 on Watkins to win Super Bowl LV MVP at 200-1
Watkins had 1 catch for 13 yards.
-Tipico Sportsbook in New Jersey had a booster (%plussign% 6900) for Rob Gronkowski if he had exactly 69 yards receiving. They offered a $69 max bet.
Gronk finished with 6 catches for 67 yards. It would have cost them over $100K.
— Ben Fawkes
Kansas City Chiefs (-3, 55.5) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Both offenses started slow as the first three possessions ended with punts, and the “no” cashed on “Will there be a score in the first 6.5 minutes?” The Chiefs drew first blood on their second possession with a 52-yard FG by Harrison Butker with 5:14 left in the first quarter, cashing for those who bet the Chiefs to score first at around -125 and that the first score would be a FG or safety at &plussign&180. The Buccaneers responded with 8-yard TD pass from Tom Brady to Rob Gronkowski with :37 left in the opening quarter. Gronk was around 16-1 to score the first TD, which is always one of the most popular prop bets. At the end of the first quarter, the Bucs led 7-3, cashing as 0.5-point, first-quarter underdogs and %plussign&145 on the first-quarter money line.
Brady connected again with Gronkowski on a 17-yard TD pass for a 14-3 lead with 6:05 left in the first half. Butker booted another FG for the Chiefs with 1:04 left before halftime, but Brady marched the Bucs 71 yards in five plays, capped by a 1-yard TD pass to Antonio Brown with :06 left. The “Shortest TD Under 1.5 yards” (-170) cashed for the seventh time in the last eight Super Bowls. The Buccaneers led 21-6 at halftime, cashing as 2.5-point, first-half dogs & %plussign% 120 on the first-half money line. The first half stayed Under the consensus first-half total of 27.5 points, though several books did have it at 27 and those bettors pushed.
The Chiefs were installed as 7.5-point, second-half favorites (adjusted game line of Buccaneers -7.5) with a second-half Over/Under of 28 that was bet up to 28.5 at some books.
The Chiefs had a nice drive to start the second half but again had to settle for a Butker FG to cut the lead to 21-9, but the Buccaneers again answered on a 27-yard TD run by Leonard Fournette with 7:51 left in the third quarter. Ryan Succop booted a 52-yard FG with 2:50 left in the third quarter to extend the lead to 31-9 and win the third quarter 10-3.
The fourth quarter was scoreless, so the Buccaneers also won the second half 10-3 as 7.5-point, second-half underdogs and it stayed well Under the second-half total of 28 or 28.5.
The Buccaneers wrapped up their 31-9 upset of the Chiefs, becoming the first team to host a Super Bowl in its home stadium and win a Super Bowl in its home stadium. The Bucs did it after closing as 3-point underdogs and %plussign% 145 on the money line. The game stayed Under the closing betting total of 55.5 points. The Buccaneers were 12-1 to score exactly 31 points. The Chiefs were 100-1 to score exactly 9-1 to show unlikely that result was as they were held to three FGs and didn’t score a TD.
Brady was named the Super Bowl LV MVP, cashing for those who took him around odds of 2-1 (better than the money line).
Final score: Buccaneers 31, Chiefs 9
ATS winner: Buccaneers (%plussign% 145 on money line)
Total: Under 55.5
— Dave Tuley
