Written By: @PayneInsider
Sports books and sharp bettors were exuberant, but the overwhelming majority of folks that wagered on the Packers-Seahawks Monday Night Football escapade probably felt like they did as a child on Christmas morning opening up tube socks from the aunt they can’t stand.
THE STAGE: Green Bay, which closed 3.5-point favorites while garnering roughly 70-80% of all bets-leading 12-7 on the final play of the game, when Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson chucked a prayer towards the back corner of the end zone. Disregarding multiple offensive pass interferences, two officials had conflicting opinions on whether the offensive or defensive player caught the ball, before ultimately deciding that Seattle receiver Golden Tate had come down with the pass.
THE DECISION: Sports betting reporter, @DavidPurdum spoke with Jeff Sherman, assistant director of the race and sportsbook at the Las Vegas Hilton on what the controversial touchdown meant to their bottom line: It was a “6-figure” swing in favor of our book, “85% of bets were on the Packers.” Sherman went on to describe the scene at the LVH SuperBook as; “chaotic disbelief.” Later on, Sherman says he estimates that the game shifted $15 million in Nevada alone.
ESPN Sports Business Reporter, @DarrenRovell chatted with Mike Perry, a spokesman for betting website Sportsbook.ag. Perry’s estimate in the money swing on the call at the end of the game is closer to $200 million and $250 million worldwide. Perry said that 70 to 80 percent of the money on his site was put on the Packers, which is in line with the percentages bet in Las Vegas.
THE AFTERMATH: Clearly, the Packers’ got shafted by overwhelmed replacement officials and received the shortest end of the stick, but what does this mean in the grand scheme of things? Teams that start 1-2 make the playoffs just 27% of the time, whereas, teams who start 2-1 reach the postseason at a 52% clip.
Innocent bystanders (San Francisco, St. Louis and Arizona) were also dramatically affected by the outcome of Monday night’s tragedy. Despite being the worst division in football since realignment in 2002, the NFC West race is always hotly contested-evident with the division being decided by two games or less seven times in the last decade.
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