Bookmakers hammered in Vegas as bettors jump on NFL underdogs

THE American arm of William Hill is currently licking its wounds after the company reported it experienced the worst day of its five-year history of operations in Nevada.

Astute gamblers invested their money on the underdogs during Sunday’s NFL playoff matches and gave the bookmakers a roasting in the process.

Both home teams were the favourites on Sunday and took six point leads early in the match, prompting William Hill customers to unload on the Packers and the Steelers, who overcame their more fancied rivals to progress through to the Conference Championships.

Without getting specific on the exact amount the company lost, William Hill announced they took a ‘seven figure’ hit – the biggest single day loss in the sports betting agency’s lifetime in America.

Other Vegas bookmakers took a huge hit on Pittsburgh’s narrow win over Kanas City.

A number of bettors had parlays going into the final playoff game of the weekend, and the bookies looked like they finally got one in their favour after Kanas City converted a two-point attempt late in the game to level the scores.

A holding call was handed to the Chiefs however, and they were unable to secure a second score upon the restart, which sealed the bookmakers’ fates.

Jason Simbal, VP of risk for CG Technology sports books, said the Steelers’ upset win hit companies the hardest.

“The worst game of the weekend for us was the Steelers,” Simbal said.

“There was so much parlay liability for the Steelers. And the teasers all cashed.”

Those bettors who believe the Packers and the Steelers can cause another upset in the Conference Championships can get +160 at Bovada.lv for Green Bay to progress past Atlanta to the Super Bowl while Big Ben and Pittsburgh are at the less fancied price of +190 to beat New England.