Tuesday, February 08, 2005
A late touchdown pass by quarterback Donovan McNabb did not win the Super Bowl for the Philadelphia Eagles. It did produce a super Sunday for the sports books, however.
New England, which closed as a 7-point favorite over Philadelphia, led by 10 at the two-minute warning and was in position to cover the spread.
But a lot of money changed hands after McNabb's 30-yard scoring throw to Greg Lewis with 1:48 remaining helped the Eagles get the back-door cover.
The Patriots held on to win 24-21, and the final score came in under the total of 47 1/2.
"Almost every book probably needed New England to win but not cover," Las Vegas Hilton sports book director Jay Kornegay said. "The worst scenario would have been for the Patriots to cover and it go over the total.
"It was probably one of the bigger back-door touchdowns we've had in the Super Bowl in a long, long time. If we didn't get that last touchdown, we probably would have broken even on the game."
The Nevada Gaming Control Board will release the total amount wagered on the game late this week. The handle might not set a state record, but the books are expected to record a significant win.
A record $81.2 million was wagered on last year's Super Bowl, with the state's books winning a record $12.4 million.
"I would be surprised if the total handle throughout the state exceeded last year," said Stardust sports book director Bob Scucci, who predicted two marquee teams would attract significant wagering.
"It came close to what we expected. I anticipated more because of the matchup, but we haven't seen that."
The NFL's policy against Super Bowl parties forced Las Vegas hotels to move the traditional game-day gatherings from bigger ballrooms to books and other areas of the casinos. The weekend crowds at various locations around town appeared to be smaller than they were last year.
"That was probably the only thing that prevented it from being a record," Kornegay said.
The most popular parlay bets were on the Patriots to cover and over the total, Scucci said. He also said his book took a lot of wagers on the Eagles to win at plus-210 on the money line.
"All week, New England had a 4-1 ratio in terms of dollars wagered, but a lot of money came in late on Philadelphia," Scucci said.
The Patriots were minus-270 to win straight up, but Scucci said, "Nobody really wants to lay that price."
New England squandered two scoring chances, one when quarterback Tom Brady lost a fumble in the red zone. The Patriots also were forced to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri with 8:40 left, making their lead 24-14 and opening the door for Philadelphia to beat the spread on McNabb's late TD pass.
By winning three of the past four Super Bowls, New England is being declared this decade's dynasty team. The only fact detracting from the Patriots' dominance is that all three of their victories were by just three points.
New England also failed to cover in last year's Super Bowl, beating Carolina 32-29 as a 7-point favorite.
The Hilton offered more than 250 proposition bets on Sunday's game, and Kornegay said the results were good for his book.
The total rushing yards for the Patriots' Corey Dillon opened at 91 1/2 and was bet up to 100 1/2. Dillon finished with 18 carries for 75 yards.
New England, which had scored first in 25 of its last 26 games, was a minus-180 favorite to score first in the Super Bowl. But Philadelphia got the first score on a McNabb pass to L.J. Smith in the second quarter.
The Eagles' Terrell Owens played surprisingly well despite a bad right ankle. The Palms posted props on Owens' receptions (three) and receiving yards (48 1/2). Owens made nine receptions for 122 yards.
Super Bowl gaming probe continues
Authorities wait for paperwork in two Outagamie searches
By John Lee
Post-Crescent staff writer
GRAND CHUTE — Officials Monday were unable to say when, or if, criminal charges will be brought after state agents raided a supper club here Friday and seized a $100,000 Super Bowl pool.
Outagamie County Dist. Atty. Carrie Schneider said no arrests were made after agents from the state Justice Department’s Division of Criminal Investigation seized the pool from the Legacy Supper Club, 5334 N. Richmond St.
She said a second, consensual search was conducted at Tommy G’s, a Kaukauna tavern. She said she was told that between $10,000 and $15,000 in betting was involved there. Officials there could not be reached for comment Monday.
Schneider said it is not uncommon to hear rumors about Super Bowl betting, “but a $100,000 pool is something unique to this area.”
Schneider was waiting for police reports on the Legacy incident, and said she would be in contact with state agents to determine whether a forfeiture of the money would be sought at the federal or state level.
She said the seizure came as the officers executed a search warrant at the business.
A search warrant return filed Monday by Joseph Kapitany, a special agent with the DCI Gaming Enforcement Bureau, said officers seized $101,848 in currency, as well as a bank statement, numerous football pools, completed and blank forms, a computer disk, a list of phone numbers, six log books with financial information, a receipt book, and several photocopies of Super Bowl football pools’ names and numbers.
The affidavit filed by Kapitany when he asked Outagamie County Circuit Judge Dee Dyer to authorize the search said state agents became aware of the large pool from a citizen informant in November, and said people were paying $1,000 a square for the 100-square pool, with the payout set at $95,000. The informant said $5,000 would go to the bar to pay for expenses from the Super Bowl party at the club.
The informant told agents the numbers were assigned Feb. 1, and owner Robert Blair was waiting for eight people who had asked for squares but not paid for them yet. The informant said 15 people were on a waiting list to buy squares.
Two other agents went into the bar undercover Feb. 1, and said Blair told them he had people from Hortonville, Freedom and Florida among the bettors. He said participants were allowed to make monthly payments on their numbers starting a year ago.
Agents also said the bar ran a separate sign-in pool where the prize was $1,000 every three weeks.
Names on the Super Bowl pool were nicknames like “Tommy G.,” “Lucky,” “Lucky K.,” and “House,” the agents said, and the pool was to make payments from $5,000 to $25,000 at the end of each quarter of the game.
The affidavit said Blair, 52, and his wife, Mary, 51, also had a partner, Richard D. Bauman.
The agents said Robert Blair was placed on probation for 18 months in October 1999 after being found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of using premises for gambling.
The Blairs did not return a call Monday seeking comment.
Brian Rieselman, a spokesman for the state Justice Department, said he could not comment on the ongoing investigation.
“We are not going confirm or deny matters under investigation,” he said.
Grand Chute police said their only involvement was to have a uniformed officer on the scene when state agents executed the search warrant.
Jessica Iverson, public information officer for the state Department of Revenue, said that department doesn’t enforce gambling laws, except concerning video gambling machines, but does enforce tax laws if a gambling winner doesn’t report his or her winnings, and the state learns about it.
“Say somebody did win, that is considered income and that is considered taxable even though it is illegal gambling,” she said.
But the state wouldn’t know that unless someone tells the tax collectors.
“We do receive tips from time to time and we do follow up on all of them,” she said. “Sometimes we get information through the (Internal Revenue Service).”
Capt. Mike Jobe of the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department, whose department is not involved in the probe, said the case is unusual, both for the size of the alleged pool and because gambling complaints are rare.
He said the last local gambling investigation he recalls was several years ago when Fox Valley taverns that were paying off on video game winnings were charged.
