Bettors: 49ers are Super Bowl bound
By Case Keefer, Las Vegas Sun
The 49ers are channeling their namesake in Las Vegas.
San Francisco is inciting a sports-book gold rush in the form of betting slips. Coach Jim Harbaugh’s squad was the most gambled-on team of the weekend in each of their first two playoff games as slight favorites against the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers.
Nothing has changed now that they’re taking points, three or 3.5 depending on the shop, on the road against the Seahawks in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.
While bookmakers would take a hit if the 49ers won in Seattle for the first time since 2011, it might be worthwhile considering the Super Bowl implications. San Francisco’s presence in the game Feb. 2 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., would boost Super Bowl betting volume up to 8 percent, according to Vaccaro. Last year’s record of $98.9 million wagered statewide on the Super Bowl would find itself in imminent danger.