Vegas sports books take a hammering in 2012

The Los Angeles Times and other media report that Vegas sports books took a serious, multi-million dollar financial hammering in 2012 as many popular NFL teams beat the points spread during the regular season.

Many punters combined their picks in parlays, turning $20 wagers into pay-outs of more than $1,000, depending on how many winning bets they combined.

Jay Kornegay, a 25-year veteran who heads the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino’s Race and Sports book, told the LA Times:

“We know the general public now has tremendous sources of information; that the regular player is sharper than the guy 10 years ago, but we’ve never seen a streak like this before.”

Kornegay said Week 9 of the NFL season was especially cruel, with Vegas-backed underdogs finishing 2-10 against the point spread, while seven games that day finished “over” the game’s projected total-points-scored line.

MGM Resorts, the city’s largest sports bookmaker, was apparently forced to summon emergency deliveries of cash to pay off its losses.

“It’s like you’re a passenger trapped on a train to hell,” said Jay Rood, whose 12 MGM Resorts’ sports books at properties including Mandalay Bay, Mirage and Bellagio took a seven-figure hit that day.

Business Insider reported that of the 12 NFL play-off teams, only Baltimore had a losing record against the spread, and the books were further killed on preseason over/under prop bets.

Related and similar