Tom Brady was still a relative nobody when he helped the Patriots win their first Super Bowl in 2002.
Brady orchestrated a late drive that ended with a 48-yard, game-winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri. New England’s 20-17 victory over the Los Angeles Rams marked one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history after the Patriots entered as two-touchdown underdogs and +750 on the moneyline.
It was a great night for Brady, but arguably even better for then Mirage bookmaker Robert Walker, who accepted a $4.6 million moneyline bet on the Rams.
“This was a big-time casino player that loved to bet big-time favorites,” Walker told CasinoBeats after nearly a quarter of a century. “I just thought that he was treating it like a CD, where he’s gonna bet a lot to win a little.”
It stood as the biggest bet on the Super Bowl at a regulated sportsbook until 2022, when Jim “Mattress Mac” McIngvale wagered $5 million on the Bengals to beat the Rams. The furniture tycoon used the bet to hedge against an in-store retail promotion that would refund purchases of $3,000 or more if Cincinnati won.
‘We Couldn’t Lose on That Game’
Walker wasn’t exactly sweating the biggest Super Bowl bet made to date. The Mirage took a lot of money on the Patriots to win outright on the moneyline, effectively mitigating any risk on that massive wager.
“We couldn’t lose on that game,” Walker said. “We were able to take as much from this person, and we could take as much back as we wanted to. There was nothing that could happen that we would lose on that game. Now obviously it came out the best-case scenario for us, right? But we were not gonna lose it, so it’s a really weird situation when you’re watching the game.”
Walker’s self-deprecating sense of humor is evident when he explains how he watched Super Bowl 36.
“Most people are just rooting for the best-case scenario, but to give you an example of my personality, I root for the least loss,” he said. “So I’ll say, ‘OK, the worst case scenario for us is the Rams and over,’ so that’s what I root for, and then anything else that happens that’s better is better, right?”
That’s reverse psychology at its best. In any case, it was a big night for the Mirage.
“What’s funny is we won the entire amount in the state,” Walker said. “I think the state won $3 million, and we won all of it. That was just adrenaline.”
He added, “The problem that I’ve always had and still have to this day is I’m just not a good loser. And I’m not a good winner either. I always said, ‘You know, if we held 100%, I’d be complaining about the handle.’ I think it’s just the nature of being a bookmaker.”
What’s the most important takeaway from his biggest night as a bookie?
“That was as good as it got. I should have quit right then and there because it’s all been downhill since then,” Walker said.
The post How the Biggest Bet in Super Bowl History (at the time) Came to Be in Las Vegas appeared first on CasinoBeats.
Tom Brady was still a relative nobody when he helped the Patriots win their first Super Bowl in 2002. Brady orchestrated a late drive that ended with a 48-yard, game-winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri. New England’s 20-17 victory over the Los Angeles Rams marked one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history after
The post How the Biggest Bet in Super Bowl History (at the time) Came to Be in Las Vegas appeared first on CasinoBeats.