Two days before kickoff, sportsbooks around the nation were reporting balanced action on the Super Bowl, with big bets on both teams.
The Kansas City Chiefs were holding steady as 1.5-point favorites at most sportsbooks and -125 on the money-line, with the underdog San Francisco 49ers around +105.
The Chiefs were attracting anywhere from 60-70% of the money bet on the point spread, while there was more support for the 49ers on the money line. On Friday at Caesars Sportsbook, the two teams were separated by just a few hundred bets.
“Very close,” Caesars director of trading Jeff Davis said.
Out of the eight largest reported bets on the game, four were on the Chiefs and four were on the 49ers.
The largest reported bet as of Friday afternoon was a $1 million money-line wager on the 49ers, placed by Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, a Houston furniture store owner known to place big bets to help mitigate refund promotions. He placed the bet Wednesday at the MGM sportsbook at The Mirage in Las Vegas.
The largest bet on the Chiefs was $550,000, placed Tuesday at the MGM sportsbook at Bellagio in Las Vegas.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a big decision for us, one way or the other,” John Sheeran, director of trading for FanDuel, told ESPN on Friday.