John Avello, executive director of the Wynn race and sports book, has taken one seven-figure bet on the Super Bowl in his 20-plus-year Vegas bookmaking career.
It came last year and was on the favorite. In related news, Steve Wynn is wealthy.
As of Wednesday morning, Avello said he has taken two six-figure wagers on Sunday's Super Bowl between Baltimore and San Francisco.
"Both on the Ravens," he said.
More big bets are on the way.
It's still early, but Avello is predicting one of the largest betting handles in modern Super Bowl history. The 2006 Super Bowl between the Seahawks and Steelers attracted $94.5 million, the most since at least 1991, the first year Nevada Gaming Control began tracking betting amounts specifically on the Super Bowl.
Avello estimates he'll take 15-20 six-figure bets on the Super Bowl this week.
"There will be a lot more $50,000 and up," he added. "Some people will bet $95 (thousand), $80,000 flat. There's going to be some pretty big bets come in over the next couple days."
Like most Vegas sports book managers, Avello is very protective of his biggest bettors' identities. Asked if the six-figure bets usually come from celebrities, he replied, "All I can tell you is that I wouldn't put them in any category. They are people with more money in their pocket and more willing to bet it than you and I."
He did estimate the average age of a gambler who bets six figures on the Super Bowl is in their "mid-40s."
Six figures is obviously a wide range. One hundred thousand dollars is much less than $999,000.
Las Vegas bookmanagers rarely get more specific. But the six-figure mark does trigger some upper-level communication.
"When they get into the upper six figures, and especially when seven figures starts getting floated around, I have to go talk to someone when it gets like that," said Avello.
As of Wednesday, the Wynn was offering the 49ers minus-4 with the total sitting at 47.5. Avello said he's a little heavy on the Ravens and the Under, but the moneyline is pretty balanced.
Purdum is a senior writer for The Linemakers on Sporting News. Follow him on Twitter @DavidPurdum.