Two more bets of $1 million have been placed Saturday for the fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr., bringing the total to four.
David Purdum of ESPN.com reported that’s three more than the $1 million bet total for Super Bowl LI in February.
The reasoning here is pretty simple. While the Super Bowl is something of a crapshoot from a bettor’s perspective, Mayweather is clearly the favorite here. The 40-year-old enters Saturday with a 49-0 career record and will be going against McGregor, an MMA legend-in-the-making who has never boxed professionally.
Purdum’s report points out that 92 percent of 1,200 bets placed at Caesars Palace sportsbooks were on McGregor. However, all four of the $1 million bets ahead of the fight are on Mayweather. Bettors are seeing what they believe to be an easy win on the board and taking advantage of a line that’s moved down in McGregor’s favor since the fight was announced.
That the big-money bets are pouring in now makes the most sense. It’s unlikely books are going to move any more between now and fight time, so this is as good as the Mayweather money is going to get.
The estimated $80 million expected to be bet overall on Mayweather-McGregor would set a Nevada state record.
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