Super Bowl 59 Prop Bets Steal The Show At Westgate Superbook

LAS VEGAS - The Westgate Superbook unveils its annual collection of Super Bowl 59 props on Thursday. These wagers both push the limits of a bettor’s imagination and the creativity of oddsmakers. 

Last year, the Westgate offered more than 500 Super Bowl-related prop wagers in its 36-page book.  

In what has become an annual ritual in the sports betting world, the massive board inside the legacy book on the north side of Las Vegas first goes fully dark. 

Then, at 5 p.m. local time, the board is lit one panel at a time before the entire wall is full of some 

There will be at least a dozen well-known-by-the-book sharp bettors lined up beforehand. Once the counter opens, usually 15 minutes later, each bettor is allowed up to 2 separate plays and can wager up to $2,000 on a single play. Then they must return to the back of the line. 

This year, the Kansas City Chiefs go for their third-straight Super Bowl championship and their 4^th in 5 years. They face the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles in a rematch of Super Bowl 57. The Chiefs won that game 38-35. 

Among the exotics offered by Westgate on last year’s Big Game: Who will have more: Caitlin Clark 3-pointers made vs. Travis Kelce receptions (-0.5)? On Super Bowl Sunday last year, Clark hit 5 of 15 attempted 3-pointers. Kelce had 9 catches in the Chiefs’ 25-22 (OT) win over San Francisco. 

‘Source Of Pride For Us’

The Westgate has been Ground Zero for these exotics for several years. These wagers originated at the old Imperial Palace in Las Vegas late in the last century. Former Westgate Super Superbook Executive Vice President Jay Kornegay, who recently retired, and his team began to expand their menu of prop bets in the 1980s because the NFC teams were during a long run of winning – and covering – in the Super Bowl. 

“The Super Bowl prop menu is a source of pride for us,” says Westgate Director of Race and Sports John Murray. 

And despite the old cliché, the house doesn’t always win. Certainly not when it comes to these exotics. 

“Some years, it doesn’t go too well," Murray says. "The New England Philadelphia Super Bowl (SB 52, won by the Eagles 41-33), where every guy on the field scored a touchdown, we didn’t do great on props that year.”

A year later, it was a different story. The Patriots beat the Rams 13-3 in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl to date. 

“That year, it was awesome for us,” Murray adds. “It was a great one.” 

Last year, the book held a large liability on Travis Kelce scoring a touchdown. No surprise there. “We didn’t do well last year. We were going to win so much money on the Niners if they had just won in regulation. That was tough to watch.” 

NFC Blowouts Triggered Rush On Props

During a 16-game span starting with Super Bowl 18 in 1984 (Raiders 38, Redskins 9) through Super Bowl 33 in 1999 (Broncos 34, Falcons 19), 13 games were decided by double-digits. And 9 were decided by at least 3 touchdowns. 

“The NFC teams were winning by like a million points. By halftime, there was nothing left. And they said, ‘We’ve got to add more props. We’ve got to add more props. These games aren’t even competitive.’ And then it just grew, and grew, and became the beast that it is now,” says Murray. “We actually handle more money on the props now than we do on the game itself.” 

The biggest – perhaps both literally and figuratively – prop wager in the history of the Super Bowl was whether William “Refrigerator” Perry would score for the Bears against the Patriots in Super Bowl XX. 

Another infamous prop from those heady days at the Imperial Palace had Joe Montana facing off against Michael Jordan. “Who will score more points — the 49ers Against The Broncos in Super Bowl 24 or Michael Jordan versus the New Jersey Nets the previous night? San Francisco rolled Denver 55-10, while Jordan settled for 39 points against the Nets. 

Two Days In The Making 

Back in the day, Kornegay’s team could fit all their props on both sides of 1 sheet. 

This week, they’ll be stocking up on pallets of paper at the Westgate. 

A team of anywhere between 6 to 10 oddsmakers at the Westgate will spend Tuesday and Wednesday of this week working on their offerings. They are given their own room, complete with catering, at the Westgate’s convention center.

“A big piece of that project is putting them all up on the board,” Murray says.  

Then comes the big reveal on Thursday. 

“That’s 10 days before the game. So on Thursday and Friday, there’s this huge rush of betting. Then Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, it slows down. As you get to the following Thursday and Friday, as the public is getting in town for the game, then you start seeing another spike.”