Floyd Mayweather wins $600,000 off Talib's interception return

[JonLP24]

Two last-second interceptions returned for touchdowns by the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals delivered million-dollar blows to Las Vegas sports books, including a $600,000 hit from boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib picked off New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown that covered the point spread in the Broncos' 31-17 win. Mayweather bet $815,000 on the Broncos to beat the Jets by more than 7.5 points. He laid -130 juice and collected $1.4 million from the CG Technology sports book at the M Resort.

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"Floyd didn't watch the game here," Simbal said, "but he certainly showed up shortly thereafter to cash."

Talib's pick-six electrified crowds at the sports books across Vegas and caused six- and seven-figure swings that went against the house. It also caused some damage inside the back office of the MGM Mirage sports book.

"The place went absolutely berserk," MGM's vice president of race and sports, Jay Rood, said. "I kicked a hole in the wall. I'll leave it as a reminder of my feelings toward Geno Smith."

The Broncos were the most popular bet in Vegas. The Westgate and Aliante sports books told ESPN approximately 95 percent of the bets on the game were on Denver.

"It was devastating," Aliante's sports book director, Marc Nelson, said.

http://espn.go.com/espn/chalk/story/_/id/11691925/floyd-mayweather-jr-wins-600k-las-vegas-bet-following-geno-smith-interception

[mythology]

1. If 95 percent of the bets were on Denver,

doesn't that mean the line was too low? I thought the goal was to have betting be about 50-50 and make their money off of the vig.

[JonLP24]

2. Power ratings are often used as a baseline for most spreads

after it is released it can change to encourage bets to the other side when money is pouring into the other side but NFL lines don't move more than a couple of points unless there are other factors such as injuries, weather, etc and the public sometimes just keep betting the other side despite the line moves.

Having 50-50 action doesn't work when one side bets $10 and another side bets $500 for instance.

Initial lines are based on power ratings (& some public perception) then released but in Vegas there is little difference across sports books when it comes to lines so you won't see much major line moves in that town.