For over two decades, Caesars sportsbook executive Adam Pullen has accepted substantial bets while establishing betting lines for the Super Bowl. However, he had never seen a six-figure wager on the outcome of a coin toss until a gambler placed a $100,000 bet on tails for the Super Bowl LVIII between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. Pullen, the assistant director of trading at Caesars in Las Vegas, stated that the bettor could either be in a hole or up big before the game even begins. Prop bets, such as the coin toss, have become increasingly popular, and bettors can place wagers on individual performances or sequences that are unrelated to the final score. Prop betting originated in January 1986 when William “The Refrigerator” Perry scored a touchdown during a game, and oddsmakers established odds on whether he would find the end zone. The popularity of prop bets has grown significantly since the Supreme Court decision in 2018, which authorized legalized sports betting. The decision allowed gamblers to place bets on unique events such as the opening kickoff’s outcome or a player’s performance. The popularity of playing fantasy sports has also contributed to the growth of prop betting.
According to Andress, prop bets will make up 40% of all legal wagering on the Super Bowl, but Vaccaro believes the percentage is even higher, estimating that half of all bets will be on props. BetMGM sportsbook offers around 1,000 prop bets, many of which are related to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who is a popular player to bet on for MVP. However, sportsbooks cannot legally accept bets on Kelce’s relationship with pop singer Taylor Swift, so some wagers related to Swift can only be found outside the U.S. Despite the popularity of prop bets, Vaccaro never predicted the staggering number of wagers on the Super Bowl when he started as a bookmaker in the 1970s.
