Vegas sportsbooks see 'million-dollar swing' in Duke-Utah finish

Duke's win over Utah to advance to the Elite Eight on Friday left plenty of long faces among those managing sportsbooks in Las Vegas.

Blue Devils guard Quinn Cook's made free throw with 0.7 seconds left in the game gave Duke, a five-point favorite, a 63-57 win, reportedly hitting the sportsbooks hard, to the tune of six figures.

"It caused a million-dollar swing with parlay liability, to the bad," said Jay Rood, MGM's vice president of race and sports, according to David Purdum and Darren Rovell of ESPN. 

With Duke up five and 10 seconds to play, Cook pulled down a rebound off a missed 3-point attempt by Utes forward Jordan Loveridge. Utah tried to tie up the Blue Devils guard and force a jump ball, but it was not awarded the call.

However, as time was running out and Utah's players were heading off the court, the referees blew the whistle to call a late foul on guard Brandon Taylor, awarding Cook a chance to push the score beyond the five-point spread with free throws. He made one of two shots.

Despite taking a bath on Duke-Utah, Vegas was certainly pleased that 12 of the 16 underdogs covered the spread during the tournament's opening Thursday - the best start to March Madness that MGM's Rood has witnessed.

According to the William Hill sportsbook, 82 percent of all bets placed, and 77 percent of dollars wagered, were on Duke, giving the public a great return. 

John Avello, executive director of the Wynn race and sportsbook, said he's experienced a wild year of finishes overall. 

"It's crazy when it happens, but this is like a common occurrence to me now," he said. "Whether it's being on the 1-yard line at the Super Bowl or this, it happens so many times, that I'm kind of hardened to it."