Upset Is Bad News for Vegas

If the St. Louis Rams are looking for a key to their 20-17 Super Bowl loss, the New England Patriot defensive line might be a good place to start. If the Nevada bookmakers wind up losing on Super Bowl wagering, the moneyline might be a good place to focus.

As long as the bookmakers set a solid line and don’t waver, they have a chance to balance the betting ledger and thus ride out an upset like New England’s stunning victory Sunday. Most Las Vegas sports books stuck to a 14-point spread all week.

The damage comes from the moneyline, where bettors who pick the underdog get no points, but great odds. For example, those who believed the Patriots could win straight up got odds that opened as high as 5-1.

“It’s a patriotic year, so I guess it’s fitting,” John Avello of Bally’s-Paris Las Vegas Race and Sports Book told the Associated Press. “But I would say that, overall, the sports books probably didn’t do well. I think the moneyline is the difference where the books may have gotten hurt.”

Unlike the Rams, the Nevada bookmakers will have to wait a few days before they learn whether or not they lost.

Volume could be a factor. When the final tabulations are in, bookmakers are hoping to approach the record $77 million wagered on the Super Bowl in Nevada in 1998.

Their hopes were buoyed by a huge influx of tourists into Las Vegas for Super Bowl week, forcing many hotels around town to hang out “No Vacancy” signs. It was a welcome relief from the ongoing economic downturn caused by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Super Bowl betting in Nevada has been down each of the last three years, falling to $67.7 million in 2001. One explanation is the growth of the offshore bookmakers, who do a thriving business via phone and the Internet.

Gateway to Sadness

Call off the talk of a dynasty.

Losing the Super Bowl is doubly tough when your team goes in as a 14-point favorite, rallies from a big deficit in the fourth quarter and still loses on a last-second field goal. That’s what St. Louisans found out Sunday.

At The Cafe sports bar in south St. Louis County, raucous cheers after the Rams tied the score with 1:30 to play hushed a little more with each New England play over the final moments. When the field goal sailed through, there was dead silence.

“Very disappointing ... very disappointing,” patron Gerald Schaeggy said. “But you have to hand it to New England. I thought the Rams played the game that New England wanted.”

St. Louis police had extra patrols out Sunday night--anticipating, like most everyone else, celebrating crowds--but there were no reports of problems.

“It’s quiet,” police spokesman Richard Wilkes said. “I think most people are too much in shock.”

At The Cafe, Lori Wagster thought her pregame prediction-- Rams by a field goal in overtime-- was about to come true.

“Very heartbreaking,” she said. “But, you know, there’s always next year.”

Meanwhile in Beantown

Bars and living rooms across New England were filled with joy after Adam Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal as time expired gave the Patriots the victory.

“We’re the champions of the world,” Marshfield native Scott Kantor exclaimed as he and 300 other fans at the Sports Depot restaurant in Boston leaped in the air as Vinatieri’s kick sailed between the uprights.

“Nobody gave us any respect at all,” Kantor continued, pausing to catch his breath as fans went crazy. “All the so-called experts had us being blown out.”

Patriot fans didn’t need to be in the Big Easy to celebrate--they slammed on horns after pouring out of bars throughout Boston, where they danced in the streets. There will be more celebrations Tuesday, when the city hosts a parade from Copley Square to City Hall Plaza at noon.

Police reported fan rowdiness in streets, but no immediate reports of arrests or property damage. More than 1,000 fans filled Kenmore Square and chanted anti-New York Yankee slogans.

“For so long, the city’s been known as being losers,” fan Dan Shapira said. “The tables are going to turn. The fans are going to feed off this and support all the teams.”

That’s Not the Ticket

The man was very unhappy to be holding a stack of Super Bowl tickets six hours before kickoff.

“This stinks, definitely the worst Super Bowl I’ve ever had,” he said. “I’m taking a beating this week. Bad.”

The man, who would give only his first name, John, said he sells tickets at all big sporting events and normally makes a killing on Super Bowl, but this year tickets have not been in demand.

“Normally, we’d be talking several thousand a ticket,” John said. “Yesterday I was down to $1,000. Now I’m trying to clear a few hundred a ticket.”

No Longer Expos-ed

If Tom Brady had played his cards wrong, he might be a Montreal Expo farmhand today instead of a Super Bowl MVP.

Instead of focusing on celebrations, he’d be worried about contraction.

The Expos picked Brady in the 1995 draft as a left-handed hitting catcher from Serra High in the Bay Area. His father, Tom, was a draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies.

So what led Brady to football? Perhaps it was a glorious January day in 1981.

As a 4-year-old, Brady was there at Candlestick Park when Joe Montana and Dwight Clark partnered on one of the most famous touchdowns plays--The Catch--in NFL history.

A Sort of Homecoming

U2 had the Super Bowl halftime stage all to itself, and the Irish rockers delivered a moving tribute to America and the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Lead singer Bono walked onto the field with a slow, shoulder-wagging swagger, singing the group’s recent hit, “Beautiful Day,” as he climbed onto the point of a pink, heart-shaped catwalk that surrounded the stage.

As the first song wound down, a giant screen scrolled the names of victims in the attacks, and the group broke into the 1980s hit, “Where the Streets Have No Name.”

Paul McCartney, who was in New York when the hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center, sang his Sept. 11-inspired song, “Freedom.”

“I’m proud to be here and stand up with America,” McCartney said.

Boomer Schmoozer

Two hours before kickoff, a bearded Al Gore made his way through the press box with his teenage son and several of the boy’s friends.

Gore declined to be interviewed, but he did stop to say hello to former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason, introducing his son and flattering Esiason with: “This guy played football the way it’s supposed to be played.”

History Lesson Needed

The only other kicker before Vinatieri to boot a game-winning field goal was Jim O’Brien, whose 32-yard field goal in the final minute gave the Baltimore Colts a 16-13 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V.

“Jim O’Brien?” asked Vinatieri when questioned about the historical prominence. “You have to help me out on that one. Who’s Jim O’Brien?”

*

Staff writers Steve Springer, Sam Farmer and Bill Plaschke and the Associated Press contributed to this report that was compiled by Jim Barrero.