Las Vegas oddsmakers say $300 million US or more changed hands worldwide on a controversial referee call that decided the Monday Night Football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks.
Sports book chief Jay Kornegay said Tuesday that bettors at The LVH casino registered shock, some cele-bration, then anger when the outcome swung the game in favour of Seahawks bettors.
"We've seen regular refs blow calls. That's always been part of the sport," Kornegay said. "But this one was just a blatant bad call at the end of the game that decided the outcome of the game."
The Seahawks won 14-12 after referees ruled that Seattle receiver Golden Tate came down with the ball in a pile of bodies in the end zone after a Hail Mary pass on the play's last game.
The Glantz-Culver line for the game opened favouring the Packers by 4 1 /2. Had the final play been ruled an interception - as many players, analysts and fans believed was the right call - Green Bay would have won by five points.
The officials ruled on the field that Tate had simultaneous possession with Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings, which counts as a reception. The NFL upheld the call on Tuesday.
"I'm not complaining, but it did feel a little dirty," said Wesley Wong, 25, of Toronto, who said he had a combined $1,000 on the game on wagers on Seattle and a low scoring total.
Gambling expert RJ Bell of Las Vegas-based Pregame.com said an estimated two-thirds of bets worldwide were on the Packers, with about $150 million more bet on Green Bay than Seattle.
"Due to one call by the replacement refs, the bettors lost $150 million, and the bookie won $150 million for a total swing of $300 million on one bad call," Bell said.
Mike Colbert, head oddsmaker for Cantor Gaming, which runs seven sports books in Las Vegas and provides betting lines to 90 per cent of Nevada's casinos, said Cantor's books took in about 20 per cent more money in bets than usual for a Monday night game after a wild weekend.
Wong said he made a lastminute parlay bet on Seattle and the under to try to make up for losses on Sunday.
Colbert said that as an NFL fan, he felt for bettors who lost because of the play even though his sports books won money.
"When everything went down, I gotta tell you, I was absolutely sick to my stomach," Colbert said.
