Beyonce's Halftime Show Tops The List Of Super Bowl Side Bets
LAS VEGAS (CBS SF) -- It's estimated that as much as $6.3 million will be placed toward bets on Super Bowl XLVII before kickoff on Sunday afternoon, according to industry estimates.
However, not all of that money will be wagered by gamblers on the actual game. Additional wagers are being placed this year on what are known as "proposition bets" – or "prop bets" for short. These are side wagers placed on something other than the outcome of the football game.
It appears many of the "prop bets" available at the Las Vegas sports books for this year's Super Bowl are centered on the Beyoncé halftime show.
Beyoncé bets include whether her hair will be straight rather than curly (36% chance), whether it will be worn down instead of up (85% chance), and if Jay-Z will join Beyoncé on stage during the halftime show (47% chance).
Experts noted that Super Bowl "prop bets" have been steadily growing in popularity and provide an additional element of excitement for Super Bowl viewers.
"Prop bets are a fun way for people to participate in the excitement of the Super Bowl without having to know a thing about football," observed Casey Bond, an editor for the the personal finance website GoBankingRates.com, which is tracking prop bet wagering.
The Super Bowl prop bets don't stop with Beyonce, Bond told CBS San Francisco in an e-mail on Sunday morning. Here's his short list of some other bets being placed in Vegas:
* Length of post-game handshake/hug between Harbaugh brothers (over/under 6 seconds)
* How long it will take Alicia Keys to sing the National Anthem (over/under 2 minutes and 5 seconds)
* Will Alicia Keys be booed? If yes, $100 wins $500
* How many times Ray Lewis will mention "God/Lord" in post-game interview (over/under 3 times)
* What color Gatorade will be dumped on winning coach? $100 wins - Clear: +$180, Yellow: +$200, Orange: +$350, Red: +$650, Blue: +$700, Green: +$700
* Jim Harbrough will be shown first after opening kickoff (53% chance)
* Who the Super Bowl MVP will thank first. $100 wins - God: +$100, Teammates: +$175, Nobody: +$200, Coaches/Owner: +$500, Family: +$600
And that pretty much proves it: you can bet on just about anything in Vegas and the Super Bowl is no exception. They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but that's not the case when it comes to prop bets.
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