Clemson win means big losses for Las Vegas

Clemson’s 35-31 victory against Alabama in the national championship game meant big losses for Las Vegas sports books.

It cost William Hill’s Nevada sportsbook a seven-figure loss and was the “single worst loss on any game ever” for the company, according to ESPN’s David Purdum, who also does a weekly sports betting analysis with The State’s Josh Kendall.

“It was as bad as a result as humanly possible,” William Hill director of trading Nick Bogdanovich, a veteran Las Vegas bookmaker, told ESPN.

Bill Sattler, director of specialty games for Caesars Entertainment, told ESPN that Clemson winning in a high-scoring game produced “the worst loss in any college football game I can remember.”

William Hill’s VP of marketing said more money was bet on Clemson-Alabama game than any other college football game in the company’s history, according to Purdum.

Bookmakers estimated $15 million to $20 million was bet in Nevada on the game.

This story was originally published January 11, 2017 at 11:06 AM with the headline "Clemson win means big losses for Las Vegas."