Bookmakers discuss early March Madness sports betting action

Patrick Everson

FOX Sports Betting Analyst

March Madness odds are filling up the betting board at sportsbooks in Las Vegas and across the country.

Bettors are already firing on the first-round games and more, and seemingly everyone is preparing to get their Bracketology on.

Houston, Alabama, Kansas and Purdue nabbed the four No. 1 seeds. And Houston is the favorite in odds to win the NCAA Tournament at FOX Bet.

With the bracket set, let’s dive into several interesting early nuggets in the March Madness betting market.

Bracket Brings Big Bets

Once Sunday’s selection show wrapped up, it didn’t take long at all for major wagers to start dropping on NCAA Tournament championship futures.

In fact, one Caesars Sports customer didn’t even wait until the bracket was unveiled. After Alabama took Texas A&M to the woodshed 82-63 in the SEC final, Caesars took a $10,000 bet on ‘Bama +1000 to win it all. Should the Crimson Tide roll to the title, that bettor would net $100,000.

Meanwhile, BetMGM Nevada took a few five-figure plays once the field was revealed.

“Three bets came in tonight, right after the bracket was set,” BetMGM Nevada’s Scott Shelton said. “We took $10,000 on Alabama 8/1, $10,000 on Kansas 8/1 and $10,000 on Purdue 10/1.”

An Alabama or Kansas title would net $80,000 on those bets. If Purdue cuts down the nets, it’s $100,000.

The Good With the Bad

For BetMGM nationally, vice president of trading Jason Scott pointed to a couple of teams the book hopes to dodge in March Madness futures.

“Houston is our big loser. Kansas is also no good. There are a couple of losers at 300/1 and over, but those aren’t realistic winning possibilities,” Scott said, before moving on to a handful of teams BetMGM is rooting for in these next three weeks. “The Alabama men’s basketball team hasn’t made any friends with its behavior this year. But if the Crimson Tide win the tournament, they will be very popular at BetMGM, as they are a huge winner for us.

“Connecticut, Purdue and Gonzaga are also very good for us.”

All four of those teams are pretty good to have in one’s pocket. Alabama is the +800 co-second choice with Kansas at BetMGM. Purdue is the +1100 fourth choice, while UConn is the +1600 co-seventh choice with Texas.

Gonzaga, a perennial championship contender, follows at +1800.

It’s no real surprise that defending national champion Kansas is an issue behind the counter. The Jayhawks have a rabid national following and are a very public team. Houston doesn’t have nearly that kind of following.

But what the Cougars do have is a certain furniture store magnate piling on. More on that this week.

“Of the No. 1 seeds, we are seeing the most action – tickets and money – coming in on Houston,” Brossman said of the +500 favorite. “Some other notable teams that been popular since the draw are Gonzaga (+1400), Duke (+3000) and Creighton (+3300).”

In fact, FOX Bet is rooting hard against a Bluejays March Madness run.

“Creighton now sits as our biggest potential loser if they were to win it all, due to some bets we took earlier this year at +9000.”

Indeed, liability adds up quickly at 90/1 odds.

The Sharp Side

Getting to the games themselves, there are several fascinating first-round matchups on Thursday and Friday. BetMGM Nevada’s Shelton said sharp bettors quickly jumped in on a few underdogs, including the No. 4 vs. No. 13 matchup in the Midwest Region.

“Indiana opened -6.5, and they were all over Kent State right from the jump,” Shelton said late Sunday night. “We’re down to Indiana -4.5.”

Another 4 vs. 13 matchup featuring Tennessee vs. Louisiana in the East Region also got the attention of professional players.

“We opened Tennessee -12.5, and it also had a 2-point move down to -10.5,” Shelton said. “In that game so far, we don’t have a single ticket on Tennessee. And all the tickets on Louisiana are some form of sharp play.

“They jumped on Oral Roberts, too. We went from Duke -7.5 to -6.5.”

Duke and Oral Roberts meet in the East 5 vs. 12 game.

Other sharp action Shelton noted:

No. 12 Drake +3.5 vs. No. 5 Miami in the Midwest Region, moving the Hurricanes down to -2.5.

No. 12 VCU +5.5 vs. No. 5 St. Mary’s in the West Region, taking the Gaels down 2 points to -3.5.

No. 13 Iona +9.5 vs. No. 4 UConn in the West, lowering the Huskies to -8.5.

No. 15 Colgate +15.5 vs. No. 2 Texas in the Midwest, with the Longhorns shortening to -13.5.

“When we first turned the games on, it was hard to keep up with all the bets coming in on the app from the sharp players,” Shelton said.

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Welcomed Challenge

Vegas is about to get overrun by the public mass that makes the annual sojourn out for the first four days of March Madness. With 16 games each on Thursday and Friday, it’s just nonstop wagering from early morning til late night.

Every sportsbook in Las Vegas is packed, from the Strip to downtown and well beyond. Jay Kornegay, who oversees The SuperBook as vice president of race and sports for Westgate, has seen it all during his three-plus decades in the sports betting industry.

The madness in Vegas – which, by the way, is hosting the Sweet 16/Elite Eight rounds in the West Region this year – easily matches the madness of the tournament itself. And Kornegay wouldn’t have it any other way.

“March Madness is a welcomed challenge for operators. We always look forward to all the excitement it brings our city and the venues,” Kornegay said. “One of the biggest challenges Is handling all the bodies during the first four days, from sunrise to sunset. The handle during the first four days is comparable to the Super Bowl, but it’s the ticket count that stands out. The average bet for March Madness is far less than on Super Bowl weekend.”

But as Kornegay noted, with the massive number of bets made – that ticket count – the money just piles up over the first four days.

So I’ll close with this: While legal sports betting has rapidly expanded across the U.S., there’s still nothing that compares with March Madness in Vegas. Seriously, it’s a bucket-list trip that you have to experience at least once. Here’s hoping I run into you later this week. Good luck with your bets and brackets!

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.

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