World Cup Shocker: Sports Books Lose Millions With Spain Loss

The 2010 World Cup has now entered the middle game of a three game round robin for all teams involved, and today one of the tournament favorites will be back on the pitch. Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, will try to avoid an upset at the hands of South Korea.

On Wednesday, the soccer world, and sports books in particular, saw firsthand just how dangerous underdogs can be. Spain, the favorite to win not only their game against Switzerland, but also the entire tournament, lost to the Swiss. Odds makers had to be stunned, and sports books spent the majority of Wednesday evening regrouping.

The Swiss team was as big an underdog as a gambler will find at this level of play. Bettors received odds of eleven to one on their money. The official amount of money that sports books lost throughout the world is unknown, but one gambler took a stab at an estimate.

"If I had to guess, I would think that the sports books worldwide lost millions on this match," said one sports bettor, who wished to remain anonymous, "The smart gamblers stayed away from the game because Spain was too heavy a favorite, and the underdog gamblers had no problem taking a shot with the chance for a high return. It was a disaster."

Perhaps that disaster is the reason that odds makers have scaled back their odds for the Argentina game. South Korea is only +700 against a team that can be as dominant as any playing in South Africa. Argentina has odds of -220.

Nigeria and Greece will play in another match today, and Nigeria is the betting favorite with odds of +100. Greece has odds of +300, and the total for the game is two, suggesting another low scoring affair.

France and Mexico play what is amounting to a huge game in their group. Mexico was shocked in the first round by South Africa when the host team was able to gain a draw. France did not look good in their first game, either, and it is likely only the winner of this match will advance out of the group. France has odds of +130, with Mexico's odds sitting at +235.

June 17, 2010
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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