Approximately $187 million was bet on sports in August at Nevada sportsbooks, an all-time high for the month, according to Nevada Gaming Control. Bettors did not fare well.

The books won $11.37 million in August, including $10.02 million on NFL and college football combined. The month included the four weeks of the NFL preseason and Week 1 of college football.

The books held 17.38 percent of the money bet on football in August. The average annual hold percentage on football is 4-6 percent. But the last three Augusts have been exceptional for the books. They held 20.17 percent on football in 2013 and 26.95 percent in 2012.

Nevada Gaming Control senior research analyst Michael Lawton attributes August's higher hold percentage to lighter volume in August compared to the months during the regular season. Or perhaps, as some have suggested, the overall talent level of the bettors is at its squarest to start the football season. Regardless of the reason, August football has been kind to the books.

Bettors fared better in baseball, but not by much. The books won $3.33 million on baseball in August, a 35.9 percent decrease from August 2013. On the season, the books are up $22.13 million on baseball from April through August. Their average annual baseball win over the past five years is $24.56.

Overall, though, business is good at Nevada sportsbooks. From September 2013 through August 2014, sportsbooks won $225.6 million, a 44.49 percent increase from the previous 12-month span.

Bucs, Vikings save books

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings saved Las Vegas sportsbooks on a chalk-heavy Sunday.

Favorites covered the spread in six of the seven early games. That's never good for the sportsbooks, which almost always end up being financially invested in the underdogs.

The Buccaneers were the only underdogs to cover in the early games. After being embarrassed by the Atlanta Falcons in the Thursday game Sept. 18, Tampa Bay responded by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24 as 7.5-point underdogs. The Bucs' outright upset eliminated a ton of parlay liability that had built up with the early slew of favorites covering the spread. It was a huge swing game for the books. But there was still plenty to sweat in the afternoon games.

"We could all go away, if we don't get the Vikings," joked Jay Rood, vice president of race and sports for MGM, during the second half of the Atlanta-Minnesota game. "An outright win would be outstanding. A cover keeps us ahead."

The Vikings delivered. In the hours leading to kickoff, the point spread grew from Atlanta minus-3 to minus-6. Minnesota outscored the Falcons 14-0 in the second half to seal a 41-28 victory and help the books rest easier, heading into the night game.

"That really helped us avoid a major fire," Jason Simbal, vice president of race and sports at the CG Technology sportsbook, said of the Vikings' upset.

While the Bucs' and Vikings' upsets produced the biggest wins of the day for the books, the Green Bay Packers' beatdown of the Chicago Bears was responsible for their biggest loss. And, perhaps, we should have seen it coming.

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has the worst record against the spread of any NFL starter who has completed three seasons, at 42-63-2. He's been especially bad against the Packers. The Bears are 2-9 ATS versus the Packers with Cutler starting. Green Bay starter Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, improved to 59-38-3 ATS in the Packers' 38-17 win over Chicago. That's the best ATS mark of any quarterback with at least three seasons under his belt.

The underdog Dallas Cowboys' convincing 38-17 win over the New Orleans Saints capped another winning Sunday for the books. The game going over the total of 53.5, however, cut into the books' profit. William Hill's sportsbook said it was holding 10 times more bets on the over than the under in the Saints-Cowboys game.

A day earlier, college football's unspectacular Saturday slate produced a ho-hum result for the books. Several shops reported lackluster handle with few big decisions.

"We were just giving money from one player to another," said David Pemberton, director of specialty games at Caesars Entertainment.

Ed Salmons, head football oddsmaker at the Westgate SuperBook, added, "It seems like we've had 12 weeks of Michigan State-Wyoming games. It was just a nondescript Saturday, with no big decisions. I think people are a little tired of it. Next week, thankfully, should be fantastic, though."

Michigan's woes

Michigan's odds tell the story in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines are now 9,999-to-1 to win the national championship at the Westgate SuperBook. Their odds would be higher, but ...

@DavidPurdum Just a note. That's the biggest number we can put in our system. - LVSuperBook (@LVSuperBook) September 28, 2014

The Wolverines opened at 125-to-1 to win the national title in January at the MGM sportsbook and were bet down to 22-to-1 before the season. But three straight ugly losses to Notre Dame, Utah and Minnesota have sent Michigan's odds plummeting, along with coach Brady Hoke's job security.

Updated college football national championship odds

Alabama enjoyed a bye and remained the favorite to win the national championship at the SuperBook. The Crimson Tide, at 5-1, are followed by Florida State and Oklahoma at 6-1 and Auburn at 7-1. Baylor and UCLA are at 10-1.

Week 6 early college football action

Two favorites quickly became underdogs in two showcase games on an intriguing Saturday slate.

On Sunday, Texas A&M opened as a 1.5-point favorite against Mississippi State at the Wynn. By Monday morning, the Bulldogs were 1-point favorites.

Undefeated Notre Dame opened as a 1-point favorite in its showdown with Stanford, but early action made the Cardinal a 1-point favorite by Monday morning.