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Vegas sportsbooks suffer 'colossal' losses with playoff upsets

James Lang / USA TODAY Sports

Las Vegas sportsbooks took a big hit thanks to Sunday's divisional-round upsets by the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers, with William Hill reporting it suffered the worst day in its five-year history in Nevada.

The company, which has 108 locations in the state, confirmed a "seven-figure" blow after the underdog Steelers took down the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, following the Packers' dramatic late win over the favored Dallas Cowboys earlier in the day.

"Seemed like a blue-collar betting day with public parlaying, teasing and pounding money lines on Packers and Steelers," said Bill Sattler, the director of specialty games for Caesars Entertainment, according to David Purdum of ESPN. "We salvaged the under in (the) late game, but another solid week for the public."

Bettors also leaned heavily toward the favored Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots on Saturday, who covered one of the biggest spreads in NFL postseason in history by demolishing the Houston Texans 34-16.

"It's just colossal," Jay Rood, vice president of MGM race and sports, said of his shop's loss.

"Awful," said Westgate SuperBook assistant manager Ed Salmons of the weekend's results. "Can't be worse."

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