The Biggest And Best Super Bowl Bets In History
- Updated: February 8, 2017
The fifty-first edition of the Super Bowl is done and dusted, with the New England Patriots taking home their fifth Super Bowl championship after an incredible comeback against the Atlanta Falcons.
The game was a historic one for numerous reasons. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick became the first quarterback and coach respectively to win five Super Bowls. It also marked the first ever overtime played in a Super Bowl, and the first time any team has come back from being more than 10 points down in Super Bowl history.
In short, it’s no wonder many people are calling it the greatest Super Bowl ever played.
Super Bowl LI: as it happened
The first half of the game was a defensive and scoreless one until Falcons running back Devonta Freeman netted a touchdown to put Atlanta up 7-0. Austin Hooper followed suit to give the Falcons a commanding 14-0 lead, before Robert Alford made it 21-0. With just a couple of minutes to go in the half, the Patriots managed to kick a field goal and begin the second half 21-3.
It looked as though the Patriots were on the receiving end of a stomping, even more so once Tevin Coleman scored the Falcons’ fourth touchdown to put them 28-3 ahead. However, a Brady pass to James White gave the Pats their first touchdown and began their comeback.
Stephen Gostkowski scored his second field goal, bringing the score to 28-12 with just ten minutes left to play. The Patriots then managed to score another touchdown by way of Danny Amendola, with a conversion following to give us a score of 28-20.
With less than two minutes to go, James White scored his second touchdown, which was converted to tie the score at 28-28 and give us the first ever Super Bowl overtime. The Patriots won the coin toss and ran for a touchdown to win the game 34-28.
Sports betting and the NFL
The NFL, and particularly the Super Bowl, has always been a huge event for sports betting and gambling – not just in the US, but around the world. That means that NFL sports bettors, both online and in live casinos and sports books, often come away with some spectacular wins and stories. Here are some of our favourites.
Detroit man wins $1 million on Super Bowl LI
You saw how the game went down – talk about a nail-biter! Dominic Mirabella, 39, from Detroit, won $1 million after his multi-game bet over 81 games, culminating in the Super Bowl, paid off.
Put yourself in his shoes for a moment: you’re one game away from an 81-game streak winning you $1 million, and your bet is on the heavy favourites. Now, put yourself in his shoes at half time when his team are 25 points behind in what looks to be a crushing defeat. He probably really enjoyed himself in the second half of play!
Bob “Mr Las Vegas” Stupak wagers a cool $1 million
From a million-dollar winner to a million-dollar gambler. In the 1989 Super Bowl, casino owner and gambling legend Bob Stupak placed a $1 million bet (roughly $1.93m today) on the underdog Cincinnati Bengals.
Despite the Bengals losing to the 49ers 16-20, it was the start of a pretty good year for “Mr Las Vegas”, as he would go on to win another Super Bowl bet – this time, the first event of Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker.
Poker champion makes largest Super Bowl bet ever?
Poker champion and professional gambler Phil Ivey is well-known in gambling circles for making huge bets and being willing to gamble any amount of money, but he outdid himself in 2010 when he placed a $2 million bet on Super Bowl XLIV.
To put that in perspective, the total amount wagered in US casinos on the match was $82.7 million. In other words, one man alone represented 2.5 per cent of all American NFL betting on that day! Oh, and in case you’re wondering – he lost. The New Orleans Saints trounced the Colts to deny him a huge win.
Sportsbooks lose $20 million in 2014
The 2014 Super Bowl is one of the most infamous in history, and all Denver residents know that it is for entirely the wrong reasons. One of the most crushing defeats of any team, much less a favourite, in the history of the NFL cost the bookmakers $19.7 million.
The Denver Broncos were heavily favoured heading into the match, but when the Seattle Seahawks totally destroyed them 43-8, the Nevada Gaming Control Board determined that it was their most profitable Super Bowl ever.
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