- Ticket sales were a bit disappointing, but the betting action made up for that
- Caesars says the Las Vegas GP set an auto-racing record at its sportsbook
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Formula One’s return to Sin City didn’t quite sell out, but the Las Vegas Grand Prix did make a major impact at sportsbooks, where the circuit set several records over the weekend.
‘It was three times Daytona’s numbers,’ Caesars vice president of trading Craig Mucklow told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in reference to NASCAR’s biggest annual race. ‘It was well over seven figures.’
Caesars Sportsbook did not reveal specifics, but did say that the handle – or total amount wagered – set a record for all auto racing. Meanwhile, BetMGM, Station Casinos and the Westgate SuperBook reported record F1 handles for the Las Vegas GP.
Trading manager Seamus Magee said BetMGM took three times the number of bets than any other previous F1 race.
F1’s return to Sin City didn’t quite sell out , but the Las Vegas GP was a hit at sportsbooks
Max Verstappen, who has won three series championships in a row, took the lead with 13 laps left to win for an 18th time this season.
One BetMGM bettor wagered $200,000 at minus-200 to win $100,000 when Verstappen cruised past the start/finish line.
He opened at minus-350 at that sportsbook, and the number moved down throughout the week before finally reaching minus-185.
Rather than try to find value, many bettors went for the near sure payoff with 28.7% of money going to Verstappen, the most in the 20-driver field. However, he was third in ticket percentage at 10.5 behind Charles Leclerc (12.0) and Lewis Hamilton (11.9).
Leclerc finished second and Hamilton seventh.
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