As it became clear the Patriots were going to advance to play the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, sports books around Nevada put up a point spread on the big game.
And in early Super Bowl betting, the line has moved in the direction of New England.
According to Pregame.com line tracking, numerous Nevada sports books have adjusted the Super Bowl line to pick ‘em. This came after casinos and betting shops in the state installed the Seahawks as slight favorites of 1-to-2.5 points as the AFC title game wound down.
For the uninitiated, “pick ‘em” means the game is rated even on the point spread. In this case, the game winner covers the spread no matter the margin of victory.
At the MGM Resorts International sports books, it was “all Pats” money at the outset of Super Bowl 49 betting Sunday night, Jay Rood, the company’s vice president of race and sports, said in an email message.
MGM opened with Seattle as a 1.5-point favorite but moved all the way to New England -1. However, the line “looks to be coming back to ‘pick,’” Rood said.
According to VegasInsider.com, there has never been a Super Bowl that closed as a pick ‘em. Two Super Bowls had one-point spreads. Miami (-1) defeated Washington in Super Bowl VII, while San Francisco (-1) knocked off Cincinnati in Super Bowl XVI.
The Super Bowl Over-Under -- a bet requiring handicappers to project whether the game’s combined score finishes above or below a certain number — ranges between 48.5 and 49.5.
While pick ‘em is the prevailing line, Wynn Las Vegas has the Seahawks as a one-point favorite, per Pregame.com.
The Seahawks were 2.5-point underdogs in Super Bowl XLVIII, but they certainly didn’t play like it in a 43-8 rout of Denver. They were also underdogs in Super Bowl XL, losing 21-10 to Pittsburgh (-4).
The Patriots have been favored in their last four Super Bowl appearances after being double-digit underdogs in their first three trips (1985, 1996, 2001).
New England easily covered the seven-point spread on Sunday vs. Indianapolis, rolling to a 45-7 victory. Seattle, meanwhile, needed overtime to best Green Bay 28-22. The Packers were 8.5-point underdogs.
