Vegas Casinos Lost Millions After Eagles Pulled Out Unexpected Super Bowl Win

Vegas sportsbooks lost millions of dollars after the Eagles shocked the Patriots.

Kirt Dozier
USA Today Sports

Image via USA Today Sports

Kirt Dozier

In the lead-up to Super Bowl Sunday, there seemed to be a general consensus among fans: The Eagles will keep it close, but the Patriots will pull away at the end to win.

One part of that prediction came to fruition: it was a close, hard-fought game throughout. But one part, of course, did not prove to be true: it was the Eagles that pulled away in the game's waning moments. Doug Pederson, Nick Foles and company shocked the football world, besting Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and company.

When people are shocked by a sports result, that inevitably means the folks in Las Vegas have lost a lot of money. So, how much did the gambling houses in Vegas lose on this year's Super Bowl? Take a deep breath.

The majority of bettors (54 percent) wagered with the Eagles to cover the spread. One gambling house lost more than $4.5 million on three bets alone, according to USA Today's A.J. Perez.

.@WilliamHill reports it lost $4,634,782 on the three huge bets on the Eagles. Overall, the sportsbooks saw bettors hit on 54% bets placed on the spread, 75% of the money-line tickets on the Eagles), and total 56% of bets placed on the over.

William Hill finished the night with a multi-million-dollar loss, but it wasn't the only gambling source that took a big hit.

At MGM, one bettor alone won roughly $5 million. Placing $3 million on the Eagles moneyline was perhaps a ballsier call than Doug Pederson's design of a goal-line pass to Foles, but clearly the huge gamble paid off.

Jay Rood of @MGMRaceSports just confirmed that the $3 million #SuperBowl bet MGM books took was on the moneyline. Bettor got that wager in range of +150/+180. That means bettor won between $4.5 million and $5.4 million. @Covers#IBetTheBigGame

Don't feel too bad for MGM, though. Unlike William Hill, this sportsbook made it out OK in the end.

Per @MGMRaceSports Jay Rood on #SuperBowl: Despite plenty of big hits, MGM books will be small winner overall due to heavy halftime wagering on Patriots and strong in-game wagering on Pats as well. @Covers

Many books lost money on prop bets.

Per @TIvegas Tony Nevill on #SuperBowl outcome: "This was a horrible outcome, and one of the few times where props were so disastrous that it ruined the whole day." Likely reflects mood of many sportsbooks. @Covers #IBetTheBigGame

If you had to put money on the game—which, of course, comes with its own risks and stressors—prop bets were the safest way to go. Considering the game featured an NFL record for yardage accumulated, you probably should have circled "over" down the line.

Odds are already out on which team will be next year's Super Bowl champ, and the favorite is—you guessed it!—New England.

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