CINCINANTI — Are the Cincinnati Bengals the underdog in the AFC championship against the Kansas City Chiefs? Bettors across the nation don't seem to think so.
The Hard Rock Sportsbook reported more than 90% of all of their bets taken across the country favor the Bengals. In Ohio, more than 94% of bettors believe the Bengals will win.
“Who Dey nation is alive across the states,” said Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati Chief Financial Officer Wade Howk.
The Bengals have been riding an underdog narrative throughout the lead up to the AFC championship, and much of the season. The Chiefs were favored when the betting line opened, and quickly bettors jumped on the Bengals. After it was clear Patrick Mahomes' injury wouldn't effect his playing status, the line jumped back in favor of the Chiefs.
According to the sportsbook, the AFC championship will receive more bets than the NFC championship. Howk adds that two Bengals players are also getting a ton of Super Bowl MVP nods.
“We’ve got Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase which are kind of leading that pack and everyone is expecting them to not only go to the Super Bowl and win the Super Bowl, but those are the two leading the pack as far as the MVP nods are concerned with Joe kind of edging out Damar a little bit, but I’ll tell you either way it would be phenomenal for either one of the guys to end up winning that MVP,” Howk said.
We're talking sports betting this morning 💵
— Jessica Hart WCPO (@JessicaHartTV) January 29, 2023
Data from the Hard Rock Sportsbook shows the @Bengals are currently slight underdogs in today's matchup with the @Chiefs. BUT, more than 90 percent of their bettors think the #Bengals are going to beat the chiefs today. @WCPO pic.twitter.com/FHzSVUWToU
Ja’Marr Chase is also the most popular prop bet for scoring a touchdown during the game today. The second most popular prop bet is Travis Kelce scoring a touchdown for the Chiefs.
The AFC championship is a highly anticipated game, and the Hard Rock Casino is expecting more people to walk through their doors.
“It’s going to be very busy. We’re going to have a lot of fans in here,” said Hard Rock Casino Director of Marketing Ashley Morris.
She noted they’ll have extra staff working in the afternoon and evening to help with the large crowd.
The Hard Rock Sportsbook lounge is sold-out for this evening. However, the casino has installed over 150 TVs throughout the venue, so more people can watch the game.
