Super Bowl LVI Special MVP Marcus Allen & DraftKings Director Johnny Avello

On this week’s episode of Wise Kracks Jon and Bill are joined by NFL Hall of Famer Marcus Allen and Johnny Avello, the Sportsbook Director at DraftKings.

The Super Bowl is upon us, and this Sunday we’ll see the Cincinnati Bengals take on the LA Rams in Los Angeles. Teams playing in their own city usually enjoy a visible advantage but in this case, many are questioning whether there will be much of a hometown crowd.

Bill was not all too surprised that the line for the Super Bowl opened up at 4.5 and hasn’t moved much. We asked both our guests who they think will win the Super Bowl, and the major factors at play if you’re looking to bet on the game.

Former Super Bowl MVP Marcus Allen

Pro Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen also joined the show to give the team insight into the Super Bowl. Allen has a ridiculously long list of major trophies and records, including winning the Super Bowl and being named the game’s MVP.

The fact that Allen played most of his 16 NFL seasons in Los Angeles makes him the perfect person to talk about what to expect this weekend.

With so much early money heading towards the Bengals, QB Joe Burrow has been a hot topic of conversation.

When asked about Burrow, Allen made a direct comparison to Joe Montana. This is high praise for Burrow, who is coming into his first year even making the playoffs. Marcus Allen says:

The guys between the white lines are going to determine who is going to win.

Sports Betting Industry Vet Johnny Avello

We are so excited to welcome an absolute legend in the sports betting to the show today. Johnny Avello, Sportsbook Director at DraftKings, joined the show and provided some great details on how the Super Bowl is shaping up for DraftKings.

The sportsbook was the very first to get its lines out for the Super Bowl, with many props out days before other books. Avello revealed that it was a vast team of 50+ traders that allowed them to finish betting lines before anyone else.

Bill and Jon were keen to ask Avello questions ranging from the major factors affecting the big game to how much and where he expects the action to go.

Rams had some home-field advantage, but they are not going to have the fans there, said Avello.

He also let us know that they only have about 10-15% of the total bets for the Super Bowl as of Tuesday, so a lot of late money will come in. It’s been widely reported that early money was leaning on the Bengals.

Bill also made sure to mention some of the more exciting proposition bets that are available for the Super Bowl and listed his top two best moments:

The Christina Aguilera Flub

Wise Kracks is full of first-hand sports gambling stories and Bill always has one in the holster when the Super Bowl comes around.

Let’s set the scene. It’s Super Bowl XLV – Steelers vs. Packers. The first prop on the board was the over/under length on Christina Aguilera’s version of the Star-Spangled Banner.

Bill bet heavy on the under.

Sure enough, she finished well under, and Bill was ready to cash. Unfortunately, upon further review, she forgot part of a line, causing the bet to be voided by the sportsbook. Ouch.

The Gatorade Color Splash

Another classic tale. Picture this: Super Bowl XLVI – The New York Giants upset the New England Patriots yet again, and Coach Tom Coughlin became the oldest coach ever to win a Super Bowl.

Bill received some great information that the Giants had two tubs of Clear Colored Gatorade, so if the Giants won, Clear Gatorade at +750 seemed like a great play. Well, after the Giants won, Coughlin was indeed soaked.

However, due to the angle of the camera shot and the blue Giant’s jacket Coughlin was wearing, it looked like the Gatorade was blue. Bill had to send screenshots in for this one.

Catch Wise Kracks on YouTube Every Thursday

Each and every Thursday a new episode of Wise Kracks hit the WSN YouTube channel. Bill and Jon are joined by gamblers, athletes, sports broadcasters, and betting industry experts to dive into everything happening in the world Las Vegas sports gambling.

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