Bettors win at sportsbooks thanks to Bills Bengals Money on TCU vs. Georgia

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Week 18 odds are, to borrow parlance from another gambling activity, a crap shoot. That goes for bookmakers and bettors alike.Youve got musical chairs going at quarterback for several teams. Plenty of key players sit out  rightly so  to avoid getting injured when far more important playoff games are ahead. And there are widely varying degrees of motivation on the final weekend.Well sort it all out in the weekend recap of NFL betting, and touch on  Washington Capitals Jersey College Football Playoff championship game betting, as well.Sign me upLate Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, as a pivotal - game was winding down, South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews took a couple of minutes to talk about what so far hadnt been an ideal day behind the counter.Andrews, one of the most respected oddsmakers in the country and a longtime veteran of the industry, sensed what Sunday could become when he arrived at work hours before the first games kicked off."I said first thing this morning, if I could sign up to break even today, Id take it. Show me where to sign," Andrews said.With the , and  all key favorites  winning and covering in the early games, bettors were off and running. Then, perhaps surprisingly, South Point customers came in strong on underdog in a matchup that, at least pre-kick, was extremely important to .But the Cowboys were never really in it, losing 26-6 as 7.5-point road favorites.Then there was the - game, also playing out in the fourth quarter as Andrews surveyed the day. Los Angeles opened as a 3-point favorite, but the line closed Denver -6.5  a 9.5-point swing. Thats because, as expected by kickoff, L.A. was locked into the AFCs No. 5 playoff seed, so the expectation was that the Chargers wouldnt go full bore."We just wanted it to not fall in the middle. But thats a huge middle," Andrews said of the gap between Chargers -3 and Broncos -6.5. "Denver by 3 is the worst of it."So, of course, Denver won 31-28. Chalk up another one for those of us on this side of the counter!However, Andrews risk room saw the tide turn a bit when the  hefty 17-point underdogs at kickoff -- covered the number in a 22-16 road lo s to the . Then on Sunday night, the underdog beat the host 20-16."We wound up with a decent day. Way better than I expected," Andrews said.Everybody backs the PackAndrews shop wasnt overwhelmed with Green Bay action, though there certainly was a fair amount. Elsewhere, however, it seemed like everybody was on  bandwagon, certain that the Packers would win and nab the NFCs final playoff spot.BetMGM vice president of trading Jason Scott watched as parlay/moneyline parlay liability grew throughout the day. Buffalos 35-23 win as an 8-point favorite against was key for the betting public. So, too, was Cincinnatis 27- Brett Connolly Jersey 16 win over , even though the Bengals fell short of covering the -11.5 closing number. Cincys win still kept alive those moneyline plays  in which a team just needs to win the game, not cover the point spread. romping past 38-13 as a 14.5-point favorite didnt help Scott at all, nor did finding a way to beat the 19-16 in overtime. It set up a monumental position for the Sunday night finale between Detroit and Green Bay."Packers parlay liability is enormous, on the moneyline and the spread," Scott said pregame.Then the Lions bailed out BetMGM and surely several other sportsbooks."BetMGM escaped a bleak day with the Lions tight win over the Pack. God ble s Dan Campbell," Scott said.Added Zachary Lucas, director of retail sports for TwinSpires Sportsbook: "It was a great day. The Lions winning outright was the cherry on top. Everyone piled on Green Bay, knowing the Packers had to win."Tapping into TCUHeading into the weekend, multiple sportsbooks noted that sizable underdog was taking the lions share of tickets and money in the Playoff championship game odds market. And thats on both the spread and the moneyline, with no shortage of folks wagering that the Horned Frogs Cinderella season ends with a national title.At BetMGM, spread tickets are running 3-to-1 NHL Washington Capitals Jersey  and spread dollars 2-to-1 on TCU, and the line shortened from -13.5 to -12.5 before inching up Sunday to -13.Numbers are even more lopsided on the moneyline, at almost 9-to-1 tickets and 3-to-1 money on TCU. The Horned Frogs opened +400 on the moneyline  meaning a $100 bet would profit $400 if TCU wins the game  and theyre now +375."There is lopsided action on TCU to win the College Football Playoff," BetMGM sports trader Christian Cipollini said. "The book currently needs Georgia to win."And again, BetMGM is hardly alone there. That said, the bulk of the money for big games generally comes in on game day. So well see if that holds up as the hours draw closer to Mondays 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at L.A.s SoFi Stadium.Hotly contested contestsCirca Sports saw its high-dollar NFL regular-season football contests come to a close Sunday night. The Circa Survivor contest and Circa Million both operate solely in Nevada, though both draw entrants from acro s the country. Those entrants then either need to return to Vegas each week to make their picks or have a local proxy submit the plays.Circa Survivor, with a $1,000 entry fee, garnered 6,133 entrants for a prize pool of $6.133 million. Heading into NFL Week 18, three entrants were still unbeaten at 19-0. Two of the three got to 20-0, with one contestant taking the  who edged the 20-16 on a fumble-return touchdown  and another finishing perfect by taking the Seahawks, who topped the Rams 19-16 in overtime.Those two contestants each earned $3.06 million. The third contestant had the at home against the , who, with a lo s, would secure the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. But Houston wasnt down with losing, or the Colts are just awful. Indy lost 32-31 when, in the final minute, the Texans scored on a 28-yard TD pa s on fourth-and-20, then went for and succeeded on a 2-point conversion.It was a costly 2-point conversion, with that contestant losing out on $2 million in a three-way split of the prize pool.The Circa Million, a point-spread contest in its fourth year  contestants put in five picks against the spread each week  literally came down to the final game,  Matt Niskanen Jersey Lions vs. Packers. Two entries were tied with 60.5 points on the season. One contestant had Detroit +4.5 and the other Green Bay -4.5 on Sunday night.With the Lions winning outright 20-16, that contestant snagged the $1 million first-place prize. Second place paid out $500,000.I like big bets and I cannot lieAs noted in a , Jim "Mattre s Mack" McIngvale has the biggest bet going for the CFP championship game. In fact, hes got a few going, totaling about $3 million. Half of it is in the form of a $1.5 million bet on TCU moneyline +370 at DraftKings.If the Horned Frogs win, that bet would profit $5.55 million. So Mattre s Mack has plenty on the line Monday night as the Houston furniture magnate hedges against a store promotion, per usual.Caesars Sports noted a host of other big plays in the NFL over the weekend, including one bettor who threw down $1.125 million acro s four wagers:$275,000 -9 at (win)$300,000 -3 (-120) vs. (lo s)$275,000 Bengals -7 vs. (win)$275,000 Colts -2.5 vs Texans (lo s)The bettor went 2-2 and finished $75,000 in the red.Other big NFL plays at Caesars this week:$330,000 Cardinals +14.5 at 49ers (lo s)$220,000 Lions +6 at Packers (win)$110,000 Titans +6.5 at Jaguars (win)$100,000 Titans +6 at Jaguars (win)And well wrap with a few bets that are much more relatable to us, at least in terms of dollars wagered. These bets were placed on exact regular-season win totals at Caesars:$500 on exactly three wins at 75/1. Chicago finishes 3-14, bettor pockets $37,500.$115 on Rams  the defending Super Bowl champions  exactly five wins at 300/1. Bettor collects $34,500.$500 on Packers Lars Eller Jersey  exactly eight wins at 50/1. Bettor nets $27,500.Heres hoping some of you took some fliers like that in the regular season. Enjoy that CFP national championship game.Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. Hes based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_VTop stories from FOX Sports:  NFL trending   in this topic Click here Click here Click here