Seahawks' TD changes gamblers' fortunes in an instant
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Las Vegas oddsmakers say $300 million or more changed hands worldwide on a controversial referee call that decided the Monday Night Football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks.
Sports book chief Jay Kornegay said Tuesday that bettors at The LVH casino registered shock, some celebration, then anger when the outcome swung the game in favor of Seahawks bettors.
"We've seen regular refs blow calls. That's always been part of the sport," Kornegay said. "But this one was just a blatant bad call at the end of the game that decided the outcome of the game."
The Seahawks won 14-12 after referees ruled that Seattle receiver Golden Tate came down with the ball in a pile of bodies in the end zone after a Hail Mary pass on the play's last game.
The Glantz-Culver line for the game opened favoring the Packers by 4½. Had the final play been ruled an interception - as many players, analysts and fans believed was the right call - Green Bay would have won by 5 points.
The officials ruled on the field that Tate had simultaneous possession with Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings, which counts as a reception. The NFL upheld the call on Tuesday.
Gambling expert RJ Bell of Las Vegas-based Pregame.com said an estimated two-thirds of bets worldwide were on the Packers, with about $150 million more bet on Green Bay than Seattle.
"Due to one call by the replacement refs, the bettors lost $150 million, and the bookie won $150 million for a total swing of $300 million on one debatably bad call," Bell said.
Mike Colbert, head oddsmaker for Cantor Gaming, which runs seven sports books in Las Vegas and provides betting lines to 90 percent of Nevada's casinos, said Cantor's books took in about 20 percent more money in bets than usual for a Monday night game after a wild weekend.
Colbert said that as an NFL fan, he felt for bettors who lost because of the play even though his sports books won money.
"When everything went down, I gotta tell you, I was absolutely sick to my stomach," Colbert said.
Casinos had already begun to react to replacement officials before Week 3 began, predicting the most scoring ever across the league.
Now, adjustments for replacement referees that were only talked about previously are being factored into betting lines, Colbert said.
"We've seen it now," Colbert said. "If we do see trends and we see bets, we'll move more aggressively than we did in the past."
Sports book chief Jay Kornegay said Tuesday that bettors at The LVH casino registered shock, some celebration, then anger when the outcome swung the game in favor of Seahawks bettors.
"We've seen regular refs blow calls. That's always been part of the sport," Kornegay said. "But this one was just a blatant bad call at the end of the game that decided the outcome of the game."
The Seahawks won 14-12 after referees ruled that Seattle receiver Golden Tate came down with the ball in a pile of bodies in the end zone after a Hail Mary pass on the play's last game.
The Glantz-Culver line for the game opened favoring the Packers by 4½. Had the final play been ruled an interception - as many players, analysts and fans believed was the right call - Green Bay would have won by 5 points.
The officials ruled on the field that Tate had simultaneous possession with Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings, which counts as a reception. The NFL upheld the call on Tuesday.
Gambling expert RJ Bell of Las Vegas-based Pregame.com said an estimated two-thirds of bets worldwide were on the Packers, with about $150 million more bet on Green Bay than Seattle.
"Due to one call by the replacement refs, the bettors lost $150 million, and the bookie won $150 million for a total swing of $300 million on one debatably bad call," Bell said.
Mike Colbert, head oddsmaker for Cantor Gaming, which runs seven sports books in Las Vegas and provides betting lines to 90 percent of Nevada's casinos, said Cantor's books took in about 20 percent more money in bets than usual for a Monday night game after a wild weekend.
Colbert said that as an NFL fan, he felt for bettors who lost because of the play even though his sports books won money.
"When everything went down, I gotta tell you, I was absolutely sick to my stomach," Colbert said.
Casinos had already begun to react to replacement officials before Week 3 began, predicting the most scoring ever across the league.
Now, adjustments for replacement referees that were only talked about previously are being factored into betting lines, Colbert said.
"We've seen it now," Colbert said. "If we do see trends and we see bets, we'll move more aggressively than we did in the past."
I wonder how many replacement refs are secretly in on the football betting scene...?
Yep, I was sort of thinking DON'T GAMBLE!  That's a lot of money that didn't have to be lost. But hey, that's why they call it GAMBLING ...you take a gamble. Think of how it would be if it was a "sure thing" ...
Ahh, a fool and his money are soon parted, especially wrt sports betting.
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Enjoy the freebee. Sea chickens will implode mid season
What about the pummeling we gave them the 1st half?Too bad thats all forgotten..............Our redzone play is still scary.We had 58 seconds to make a couple sidline passes to get real close.I didnt even see 1 pass to the sidelines to preserve time.We had lots of time to march down close.Everyone was whining when they won the division with a losing record too.Move on,someone else got screwed for once.
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Boo freaking hoo. I have more sympathy for kitchen bacteria I wipe out with pine cleaner.
Teach 'em to gamble!!! Serves 'em right!!! No sympathy from me!!!
Seattle fans are in such a bubble over this it's hilarious.
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 @caphillkid If Seattle had gotten rob (as is the usual case) there would be no discussion and Seahawk fans would be just stuck with another crappy loss. What is funny and a little embarrassing is how the rest of the nation is in an uproar because it was someone else other than the Seahawks getting the shaft for once! Now that is hilarious!!
 @caphillkid Packer fans protesting out in front of Lambo over getting screwed in a week 3 games is much funnier. They can still go 14-2 and get State Farm insurance.Â
Funny how Seahawk fans have always been told to shut up and move on after bad calls like this. I wonder how long the GB fans will be talking about this one. I doubt nobody will be telling them to shut up and move on.
"Whenever you gamble my friend, eventually you lose" - Qui-Gon Jin (Jedi Master)
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Sorry, I couldn't help myself!!!
Good call. It was by the rule book. You can even see in the photo above, Tates hands on the ball. He actually had a hand on the ball from the instant Jennings had hands on the ball. Clear cut simultaneous catch. Rules are rules, and these refs followed the rule book. Though they did miss a huge offensive pass interference before the catch.
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@educated How quickly people forget that Tate has a VERY OBVIOUS offensive pass interference call right before the infamous "catch". Has THAT call been made, Seahawks would have lost. end of story. Â
 Jennings had the ball, pulled to his chest. As the players were falling down, Tate quickly speared his arm through to make it a "joint" catch.
 @newsreader  @educated How about all the other questionable calls that lead to touchdown? by GB, and such.  It was such bad officiating that the game could have gone either way right down to the end.  Funny how so many are keyed in to the final few seconds, when the majority of the game was misscalled
When they both came down, neither one could take it from the other...it was in the air that Tate latched onto the ball.. so, "tie goes to the runner"... although, I do agree, the obvious offensive PI was missed, but it was simultanious possession.Â
There were enough bad calls out there that could have changed the outcome of the game anyway.... this, is the most contraversial.....
 @educated I disagree, I think the defender gained control first and then Tate subsequently gained joint control, by rule this would not be a simultaneous catch.