Steelers Win and Failure to Cover Best Scenario for Books

"It was the best-case scenario for us to have the Steelers win and not cover," Hilton Sportsbook Director, Jay Kornegay told the Las Vegas Review Journal Monday.

For online sportsbooks, nearly 80 percent of the money line action was on the Arizona Cardinals to win outright.  Betting on the Pittsburgh/Arizona spread was relatively even but for many books, the amount of bets taken favored the Steelers.

A Super Bowl-record $94.5 million was wagered in Nevada in 2006, when Roethlisberger and the Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks. The state's total wagering for last year's game was $92.1 million.

"We've had some concerns, but I don't think the handle is going to take a huge hit," Kornegay said.

The Las Vegas Sun was reporting that this year's numbers may be comparable to last year. Kornegay said that preliminary figures for Super Bowl XLIII are indicating that this year will come close to the $92 million from a year ago.

"We don't have all the numbers in yet, but early numbers indicate it should be similar to last year, which is a lot better than many had anticipated," said Kornegay. "It says a lot about the event. Despite some things being bad around us, people are willing to forget that for awhile, put some money on the Super Bowl and enjoy the weekend."

Gambling911.com reported record traffic numbers for those inquiring about Super Bowl betting.  Close to 2.3 million hits were generated Sunday.

Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com