Interview With MGM Sportsbook Director Jay Rood: Super Bowl Edition

Back in September I asked Jay Rood, Race & Sports Book Director of all 12 of the MGM Mirage's Nevada books, a few questions about the 2008 baseball season and upcoming playoffs. Mr. Rood was nice enough to answer a few questions of my once again, this time focusing on Super Bowl XLIII. My questions are in bold, and his answers follow.

How much money in wagers do you expect to take on the Super Bowl this year? How does that compare to an average NFL Sunday?

The state hopes to have between $90-100 million wagered on the game. A good analogy would be like trying to compare a go-kart to a NASCAR -- not even close.

Are you more conscious of making sure you get the same money on both sides for the SB because of the large amount of money wagered?

The money usually works itself out so you don't really have to make too many moves.

Are there any recent Super Bowls that, for whatever reason, did not draw split action on either the side or the total?

Last year actually as it was ALL Giants money. The Patriots money never really show up in any big amounts and it became one of the toughest results for the books in nearly 20 years.

What odds did you have the Cardinals and Steelers listed at in the preseason to win the Conference and the SB? How popular were those sides? How did you guys end up making out on the conference futures?

The Cardinals were 30-1 for the NFC Conference and 60-1 for the Big Game. The Steelers were 9-1 for the AFC and 18-1 for the Big Game.

What do you think the line would've been if the Steelers were playing the Eagles?

It probably would have been Pittsburgh -3.5 and the total somewhere around 44.5.

Do you guys have any interesting or unconventional props listed for the game?

We do have a fun proposition that is the Total Points scored by Troy Polamalu -- it is 2.5 points and the over/under is UNDER -650.

Who do you like to cover next Sunday?

I think the Cardinals will put up a great battle and if they can get a break or two they might win the game.

Is it true that you get more money line bets than usual on the underdog in the Super Bowl. And more generally, how many bets are placed on the money line compared to those on the spread?

In this game the betting pattern is that the fans lay the points with the favorite and then take the odds with the dog. It happens every year. The money line wager is about one-fifth of the point spread.

When you set a "public" side in football (e.g. 2009 Cotton Bowl, when it seemed like everybody in the world was on Texas Tech), does the professional action usually even things out?

Most of the public thought that 5 1/2 was short and played it heavy. But the professionals will keep you in balance, however, they know that we are long on one side at the same time and try to wait for a better number.

Finally, not an NFL question, but last time you mentioned that you keep your own college hoops power rankings; who do you think the best four teams in the country are right now?

I think the best four teams in the country right now are North Carolina, Michigan St., Pittsburgh and either Oklahoma or Wake Forest. I think Oklahoma has played a tougher non-conference schedule which might give them the edge right now. It is tough to argue against an undefeated team though [Ed. note: Whoops].