Report: Super Bowl gambler makes mega-bet on Eagles
One gambler singlehandedly changed the Super Bowl point spread at a major Las Vegas sports book by putting down a multimillion-dollar bet on the Philadelphia Eagles, ESPN.com reported Wednesday night.
MGM vice president of race and sports Jay Rood told ESPN's David Purdum that bets had been split between the favored New England Patriots and the underdog Eagles prior to the huge wager.
"Obviously, we're pretty heavy Eagles now," Rood said.
Rood wouldn't tell ESPN whether the gambler took the Eagles with the points or if the bet was on the money line for Philadelphia to win the game outright. Following the mega-wager, MGM dropped from New England by 5.5 points to 4.5 points, and the money line for the Eagles changed from plus-180 (winning $180 for every $100 bet) to plus-170.
The Patriots opened as a 5 1/2-point to 6 1/2-point favorite across Las Vegas, but the line is largely down to five points now. The over/under total has moved from 47 1/2 points to 48 points.
The money line for New England is minus-200 (bet $200 to win $100) to minus-205 ahead of the Super Bowl, to be played Feb. 4 in Minneapolis.
Simon Schama, the British historian, recently tweeted: “Indifference about the distinction between truth and lies is the precondition of fascism. When truth perishes so does freedom.”
