How did the NFL playoffs look from the sportsbook?
Las Vegas is a bizarre and, ultimately, fascinating place to consume sports.
While the great majority of the sporting universe fixates on the final score or some sort of individual story line, Las Vegas and its patrons focus on abstract point spreads designed to increase action and “level the playing field” in order to get away from simply prognosticating on the winners of potentially lopsided contests.
Over the weekend, the NFL Playoffs took center stage in Sportsbooks up and down the Las Vegas Strip, and as you may expect, every play was magnified ten-fold. Amusingly, an almost flawless microcosm of the gap between Las Vegas and the rest of the universe happened on Saturday, but it took place before the “big league” football even got going.
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College football’s FCS Championship Game was, somehow, the “prime” attraction in the early morning hours on Saturday, as it represented a chance for the public to wager on a real, live football game before noon. Keeping in mind that a minuscule percentage of America could potentially evaluate a game between North Dakota State and Illinois State with any level of “expertise”, there was no shortage of opinions on who was the “right side”.
Flash forward to the waning moments, as North Dakota State, who entered the game as a 6-point favorite, led by only two points. Illinois State running back Tre Roberson exploded for a 58-yard touchdown run to give ISU the lead, and effectively, this play ended all hope of a “cover” for the more public team in NDSU. What separates this moment from most was the sound.
The eruption.
Sportsbooks are funny, in that patrons must be highly aware of their surroundings. During a “peak” time, there can be dozens of games in action, and any person can have any size wager on any of them. That makes for a lot of personal explosions of cheer or woe, but in a game like this one that is the main event at the time, eruption is the best way to describe it.
Tre Roberson’s run was a perfect example of that, but if you can imagine the gap in attention between an FCS football game and four games during the NFL Playoffs, you can perceive the roars of jubilation and cries of sadness that the most popular sport in America can bring. There were numerous (and virtually endless) instances of this phenomenon over the weekend, but ironically, the most highly-discussed play did not quite fit the criteria.
By now, you have undoubtedly seen dozens (upon dozens) of replays involving Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant and the catch/drop that was the talk of the NFL Playoffs to this point. Bryant’s potentially game-winning catch was annulled on replay after a (correct) interpretation of a questionable rule, and in fairness, there was a significant roar when the play happened and an equally riveting buzz throughout the entire replay proces. However, that play was not the most important play of the game in Las Vegas, and that provides yet another window into the unusual nature of the venue.
Approximately five minutes early in scoreboard time, the Packers scored a touchdown to take a five-point lead at 26-21. This was particularly noteworthy because Green Bay closed as a 5.5-point favorite, but as the time and score of the game dictated, Green Bay was forced to go for a 2-point conversion in order to attempt to extend their lead to seven points. Aaron Rodgers was unable to complete a 2-point attempt, and that play, in all actuality, decided the most significant portion of wagering tickets on the day.
The 2-point conversion in question did, of course, present some value to the NFL game itself, but when compared to the relative “impact” on Las Vegas, the two could be a canyon apart. That is what makes Las Vegas and the entire world of handicapping so interesting to follow. Virtually everyone in the room, however large or small that particular sportsbook may be, is living and dying on every single snap of the ball because, well, their hard-earned dollars are involved. Fans are also invested in their team’s success, especially in overall terms, but do you think Packers fans care that the team won by five points instead of seven?
I think not.
Handicappers and sportsbook visitors almost certainly do, and along with stated stories about FCS Championship touchdowns and failed two-point conversions, there are dozens more of high-impact plays that people immune to point spreads would never find time to care about. There is nothing like the sound of a Las Vegas sportsbook during a big game, and after arguably the most entertaining football weekend of the year, residents and visitors alike were spoiled beyond belief.