Las Vegas Weekly

January 30, 2009 · 7:43 AM

Will sports books hit the magic $100 million mark for Super Bowl betting?

By Robin Leach

Bruce Springsteen will be performing during halftime of Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

It’s one of the biggest -- if not the very biggest -- days in sports book betting. It’s the game of all games, and the bet of all betting.

Last year when the New York Giants played the New England Patriots, some $92 million flowed into our sports books, just shy of the previous record of $94.5 million on the Pittsburgh Steelers-Seattle Seahawks game three years ago in Super Bowl XL. Even with the national economy in tatters, sports book directors hope as the big game gets closer that betting numbers will increase.

Sports books expect to hit just over the $80 million mark, but they’ve got 165 different ways to bet on the game -- even including one on what Bruce Springsteen’s opening song will be! Anything to bring in the desperately needed money!

Many hotel casinos in town are throwing Super Bowl parties. Showgirls and go-go dancers in uniforms as brief as could be will be the eye candy in between the bountiful buffets. I’d far sooner look at gorgeous, knockout girls wearing next to nothing than sweaty strongmen chasing a tiny ball while clad in rugged helmets and tight, protective-padded pants. It sure isn’t the nonstop action of British soccer!

But tens of millions across the world will tune in -- and watch the creative new commercials. PETA’s provocative ad featuring barely clad models adoring vegetables has been banned, but other spots will certainly push the envelope.

It all kicks off at 3:28 p.m. our time from Tampa, Fla., between the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh. Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart was a regular visitor to our nightclubs and was linked with Paris Hilton, but he seems to have quieted down and gone MIA on the Strip. If Ben Roethlisberger carries the Steelers to the expected victory, I guarantee you they won’t be headed to Disneyland after the win. First stop will be their favorite Sin City haunts!

We’ll have the party scene wrap up and exciting Super Bowl entertainment photos from our contributing photographer Tom Donoghue on Monday.

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