Below is part of my weekend wrapup in Thursday's editions of Daily Racing Form...it mirrors what most posters said above: books won the weekend. For Vegas books, a lot of their profits come from their parlay cards, so that has to be taken into effect. Other posters are right that one game doesn't make or break a weekend, but a string of favorites that are included on a lot of parlays (especially "public" teams such as the Rams, Packers, 49ers from some years, etc.) can add up in a hurry. Just giving my 2 cents (which I can barely afford after last weekend...just kidding
By DAVE TULEY
In the opening weekend of the NFL season, favorites went 9-5-1 against the spread (the Rams-Giants game closed at pick-em, so that isn't included), but it was the favorites that lost outright that had everyone talking. The Dolphins, a 13 1/2- to 14-point favorite over the Texans, lost 21-20. Las Vegas sports books made a killing on that game, because in addition to bettors backing the Dolphins in straight bets, a ton of parlay cards and teasers included the Dolphins. In addition, while some offshore books had a money line (-1100 on the Dolphins to win straight up, with the Texans at +800) on the game, most Vegas books don't offer a money line if an NFL line is 10 points or higher. Those tend to attract an overwhelming amount of underdog money, as bettors are not as likely to risk $110 to win just $10, but they might take a stab at risking $10 to win $80. So, without that added liability, Vegas sports books cleaned up.
Bettors fared much better with the Vikings, who opened as a 6 1/2-point underdog to the Packers and were bet down to +4 before winning outright 30-25, and the Colts, who opened as a 1 1/2-point dog to the Browns and closed as a 1 1/2-point favorite before winning 9-6. But those were the exceptions to the rule, as the seven games that moved off the opening number went 2-5 against the spread.
The results that kept the sports books from having a huge day Sunday were the Falcons, Seahawks, and 49ers rolling in the afternoon games and the Titans kicking a late field goal to cover a 3-point spread over the Raiders, 25-20, in the Sunday night game. Those games helped bettors cash a lot of parlays that cut into the books' earlier profits.
http://www.drf.com/news/article/49638.html
[This message was edited by tuleythetout on September 10, 2003 at 03:40 AM.]