National Anthem Betting

If you haven’t heard the Super Bowl happens this Sunday, it’s a pretty big deal. Lots of people eat, drink and gamble while they watch the two best teams in the NFL, face off for the right to be champion.

The best part of the game for me is the gambling, to be more specific, I love the props. In my earlier life, I worked for a sportsbook creating props that bettors would find interesting and fun.

My favorite of all time was the length of time it would take Billy Joel to sing the National anthem. The prop was an incredible hit; the sportsbook I worked for took in almost a quarter of a million dollars on that prop.

Creating a prop on the national anthem was something I joked about but when my boss finally relented and said, “Ok, let’s do it.” I was thrilled.

What made it so great was that the NFL media, always desperate for unique news during the Super Bowl, ran with the story. ESPN made mention of it, newspapers from around the world were noticing this goofy prop I thought up. I loved it and became a local celebrity around the office.

The pinnacle of the experience for me was when during the Billy Joel news conference, a reporter asked this question. “Billy, there is a lot of speculation about whether you will be performing a fast rendition or a slow rendition of the anthem, can you give us a hint?”

Billy Joel, the Piano Man himself answered, “I am well aware of the speculation and I don’t want to say right now because I might have a bet on it myself.” He didn’t say the name of the sportsbook I worked for but just that mention was enough for me.

The following year, we received a call from the NFL media relations department asking what we had up our sleeves for the Super Bowl. It was an inside joke that the entire world was let in on. Fantastic!

Sportsbooks have reproduced the prop every year since, this year our friends at Bodog.com and BetUS.com are offering odds on the National Anthem.

National Anthem Length
Over 1 minute and 41seconds -105
Under 1 minute and 41 seconds -135

With Carrie Underwood singing I don’t think she’ll stretch it out like Marvin Gaye but savoring the moment, I can see her going just over the 1m41s.