The Bet of the Year: sports books ready for Super Bowl

When it comes to bizarre behavior by Super Bowl gamblers, veteran Northern Nevada sports book operator Ron Ulman has witnessed plenty, but he’ll never forget the mysterious man carrying a suitcase stuffed with cash.

“He would have a suitcase, and he’d bet in the neighborhood of a quarter million on the game,” Ulman said. “He would do this on a regular annual basis.”

“In my books, I refer to Super Bowl Sunday as the informal national holiday,” said Richard Davies, a history professor at the University of Nevada, Reno who lectures and writes about sports and society. “We gather as a global village. Up to 50 percent of American people will watch (at least) part of the Super Bowl.”

Pinto offers about 200 different bets on the Super Bowl, including three pages, front and back, of the “proposition”, or special, wagers that Boscovich and other gamblers enjoy.

“It took me seven hours to print them,” Pinto said. “I like to be neat.”

You can bet on the jersey number, odd or even, of the first player to score a touchdown. You can bet on whether the first score of the game will be a touchdown, field goal or safety. You can even bet on something that happens before the game starts, the coin flip, heads or tails.