Betting profits are down for Super Bowl XLV, which is sad we suppose until you remember that the casinos still made almost $1 million in less than three hours. So whatever, non-story. Let’s talk about something more interesting: Prop bets.
Christina Aguilera’s national anthem flub is causing more trouble than her simply being called an “anti-American slut.” One popular prop bet is the length of the anthem. Bodog.com had the over/under at 1:54 and timed the singer’s version at 1:53.7. However, because of the singer’s mistake, Sportsbook.com is paying off both sides.
“It was a controversial performance with bettors,” SportsInteraction.com betting analyst Al Dannity told the website in what has to be the most ridiculous quote of the year. “Aguilera came in narrowly under, but it’s hard to tell what impact her error had. Had she remembered the lyrics, then she would probably have been more composed and finished faster. Those betting the over (might not) see it that way and I doubt they will be buying any of her records for some time.”
So there. Now what about those other Aguilera-related prop bets?On the Friday before the game, Bill Simmons offered up some advice: “I think Christina Aguilera’s national anthem will be more than 1:54 (-130) and she’ll hold “brave” for more than six seconds (-130) because her new boyfriend seems seedy and I bet he’ll wager on both of those things and then coerce her.”
There’s no word on whether the boyfriend had anything to do with the singer’s mistakes – and we can’t imagine he did – but it should be noted that Aguilera flat out killed the “brave” over. We had her timed well above nine seconds. Of course, she has a wonderful set of pipes and clearly relishes the opportunity to show them off.