Gamblers wagered a record-shattering $98.9 million on Super Bowl statewide Nevada sports books bank $7.2 million on Baltimore Ravens win

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

The crowds that turned out to bet on the Super Bowl yesterday in Las Vegas awed legendary oddsmaker Jimmy Vaccaro.

Vaccaro, who’s spent nearly 40 years in the betting industry and is a spokesman for William Hill sports books, had never seen a turnout quite like Sunday’s.

“It was a sight to behold,” Vaccaro said after the game. “I’d expect the state is probably going to set a record.”

Vaccaro’s prediction was proven true less than 24 hours after the Baltimore Ravens goal line stand propelled them to a 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 47.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board announced bettors wagered $98,936,798 on the 2013 Super Bowl, the most in the history of the state. This year’s game easily surpassed the $93,067,358 bet on the 2006 Super Bowl when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-10.

Sports books held 7.3 percent of the total handle, calculating to a win of $7,206,460. That’s the most since the 2007 Super Bowl, when Nevada made $12,930,175 on the Indianapolis Colts 29-17 victory against the Chicago Bears.

As previously reported, it marked the 20th time in the last 22 years — and sixth year in a row — that casinos won on money on the Super Bowl.

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.