By Casey Olson, Sidelines
Las Vegas is a great place, isn’t it? And it gets even better come Super Bowl time, if that’s possible.
Many betting experts expect tomorrow’s game to bring in over $100 million in handle in Nevada and might become the most heavily wagered Super Bowl ever. The Nevada state record for Super Bowl bets was set two years ago at $94.5 million.
Bettors who aren’t traveling to Nevada to place their bets are doing so online, at overseas Internet-based sports books. Experts speculated that an additional $100 million could be wagered online, potentially making this the biggest Internet wagering handle in history, as well.
A lot of that money is going to be placed on the everyday, run-of-the-mill bets. Things like the Patriots being a two-touchdown favorite, as well as the over/under line for the game, which happens to be 54 points.
But it’s the proposition bets that really make perusing the Super Bowl lines worthwhile. And, as always, the 2008 Super Bowl prop bets are more than entertaining. They range from who will score the first touchdown of the game to whether or not Britney Spears will streak the field or show up with her kids, which seems pretty unlikely after she was committed to a hospital psychiatric ward in Los Angeles on Thursday.
My favorite bets at Bodoglife.com have to do with the halftime performance of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Will Petty smoke a joint during his halftime performance (25-1)? Will Michael Jackson sing a duet with Petty (10-1)? Will Petty trip and fall on stage (100-1)? Will Petty’s pants rip during the performance (10-1)? Will Janet Jackson be a secret performer during halftime (100-1)?
What song will Petty open with? “Free Fallin’” (3-1), “The Waiting” (10-1), “American Girl” (7-4), “Running Down a Dream” (11-10), “Learning to Fly” (6-1), “I Need to Know” (10-1), “Don’t Do Me Like That” (16-1), “Even the Losers” (5-2), “You Got Lucky” (25-1).
Other prop bets include the first beer commercial during halftime: Bud Light (2-3), Coors Light (3-2), Miller Draft (7-1). First car commercial during halftime: Ford (6-5), Chevrolet (3-2), Toyota (3-1). First fast-food commercial during halftime: McDonald’s (9-5), Burger King (11-5), Pizza Hut (6-5).
Las Vegas is a great place, isn’t it?
Animal lovers beware
PETA isn’t going to be giving New York Giants’ offensive lineman Grey Ruegamer its Citizen of the Year award anytime soon.
If any player has a skeleton in the closet, the news horde at the Super Bowl will find out about it. That’s what happened to Ruegamer.
The former Arizona State All-American used to castrate baby lambs — with his teeth. No joke. He proudly admitted that fact last week.
A family friend asked him for some extra help on her working sheep and cattle ranch outside Las Vegas, where Ruegamer grew up.
“I was hesitant,” Ruegamer told the East Valley Tribune (Ariz.) last week. “But it is what it is. She needed help. There was beer. Good times. It was worth it.”
Wow. But Ruegamer’s weirdness didn’t end back on the ranch. The 6-foot-4, 299-pounder has developed a reputation in the Giants’ locker room for being a little on the psychotic side.
“Grey is not somebody you want to mess with,” Giants center and captain Shaun O’Hara said. “He keeps all of his toenail clippings and callous shavings all season long in a cup, and if anybody wrongs him and he deems it necessary, he will dump that cup in a personal belonging of theirs. He’s known for that.”
Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com
