By Vern Hee

In 2012, $93 million was wagered on the Super Bowl. If people are going to bet, this is the one event they will wager on.

In this year’s big game, the San Francisco 49ers will face the Baltimore Ravens. The excitement of the two Harbough brothers battling it out at the Super Bowl has gamblers in a frenzy.

Roger Simon, sports book writer at Leroy’s Race and Sports book at the Pahrump Nugget, said people come from all over to place bets on the Super Bowl. He expects the Nugget sports book to be full on Super Bowl Sunday.

“We get all kinds of people in here on Super Bowl. It’s mostly people who make two bets a year, one at the Kentucky Derby and one at the Super Bowl,” said Simon.

When it comes to this event, the spread is not the only important aspect of the game. Brent Musburger, a football analyst, was caught looking at a girlfriend of the quarterback of Alabama this year at the Alabama-Notre Dame game. In the Super Bowl, that could very well be a bet. How many times will the cameraman focus on the girlfriend or wife of the quarterback?

Most people just pick their favorite team and bet and call it a day. That is what is called a straight-up bet. The most popular way of doing that is betting on the 49ers to win. The point spread is -3. So to win the bet the 49ers must win by 3 or more points.

The other option is to bet the total. For this year’s Super Bowl the total points are 48. So a gambler can wager under 48 or over. If you choose under, that means the combined total of points made by both teams must come under 48 for you to win.

Another favorite aspect of the Super Bowl is the proposition betting or prop bets.

A prop bet is a very specific bet offered by the sportsbook. Simon said Leroy’s will have at least ten pages of just prop bets for the Super Bowl.

Simon said a popular thing to do with prop bets is to combine them or offer a parlay.

The parlay is combining individual bets for a higher pay-out, but to win that parlay every one of the bets must win.

An example of a popular parlay bet for the Super Bowl would be to parlay the spread and the total. The total for this Super Bowl is 48 and the spread is 49ers by 3. So to win the 49ers must win by 3 or more and the total combined score must be over 48 points.

Prior to the Super Bowl the betting lines will be long. Simon said to make things go a lot faster in the lines make sure you have the four-digit betting number ready and handy.

“The biggest slowdown is when the people come up and do not have the betting number and then I have to look it up,” remarked Simon.

Sheldon Finkelstein, a local Pahrump professional gambler, shared some of his opinions on how to make money on the Super Bowl. Finkelstein has cancer and is used to beating the odds. He now makes his bets from home.

He said the first thing is to do in regards to Super Bowl betting is to do your homework. He watches football very closely and knows the teams well.

“To make money on this game, you kind of have to have a take on it. I have been watching football all season and have gotten a feel for who l like, why I like them, and why I don’t like them. So going into the last game I figure out what the point spread should be and if the point spread is over what I think, I will bet the other team. If it is under, I will bet the team that I thought all along. I will then press the bet and I will make a bigger bet,” he said.

Finkelstein likes the 49ers and figures the 3 points the oddsmakers gave them should be more. He thinks the line should be 5.5 points.

He said he likes the straight-up bet. He says people should stay away from the parlay bets and the prop bets.

“I stay away from these bets. They are kind of tough. It is all luck. When you are betting the game, you have a feel for it, a little bit. As opposed to betting props you have no idea really,” said the expert.

The expert gambler said, for professional gamblers this game is the game to make money because of all the amateurs betting.

“People who have no idea what they are doing are coming into bet just because it is a big deal and they have no clue. They are betting so you get the best odds. This is why the professional gambler has a good shot in making some money,” he concluded.

* The first team to score first will be?

* Which team will call time-out first?

* Which team will score first in the first quarter?

* How many interceptions will be thrown?

* What will the coin toss be, heads or tails?

* What will the total yards be for the 49ers?