Chad Ochocinco doing a celebratory touchdown dance early in the first quarter Sunday is the last thing Jay Kornegay wants to see.
Kornegay is vice president of race and sports operations at LVH, the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, and supervises the sports book that offers 26 pages of Super Bowl proposition bets. One of the most popular "props" is who scores the first touchdown, and Patriots wide receiver Ochocinco is listed at 35-to-1 odds.
"He hasn't even shown up in games, but people will play him like crazy," Kornegay said.
Kornegay also fervently hopes New England's Julian Edelman (40-to-1) or Danny Woodhead (35-to-1) or New York's Henry Hynoski (40-to-1) don't find their way to the end zone first.
"We need one of the favorites," he said. "If it's (Wes) Welker or (Aaron) Hernandez or Nicks or Cruz, we'll be okay."
Kornegay says LVH increased the number of prop bets during the stretch of Super Bowl blowouts in the 1980s and '90s to keep fans interested during lopsided games. He expects the props to account for 50 percent of LVH's Super Bowl handle on Sunday.
Bettors line up to answer some pretty narrow questions. Will there be a safety? What will be the distance of the longest touchdown? How many total interceptions will there be? Will the first pass be complete, incomplete or intercepted?
From there, things branch into other sports:
-- Do you think Giants running back Brandon Jacobs will score more touchdowns than Manchester United's Wayne Rooney's goal total against Chelsea? (Jacobs is favored, spotting half a goal)
-- Will the three Big Ten men's basketball games on Sunday produce more total points than Tom Brady's gross passing yards? (Big Ten, - 63-1/2)
-- Will Sergio Garcia's fourth-round score at the Qatar Masters be higher than the rushing yards gained by the Pats' BenJarvus Green-Ellis? (Garcia, - 21-1/2)
-- Will Marian Gaborik of the New York Rangers have more shots on goal against the Flyers than the number of Giants' punts? (Giants, - 1/2)
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson did Kornegay no favors when he hauled in Aaron Rodgers TD pass early in Super Bowl XLV last February in Dallas. Nelson was a 20-to-1 shot to score the first touchdown, so LVH took a hit, but not as badly as in Super Bowl XLI when the Bears' Devin Hester (25-to-1) ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown.
"We kind of got killed on that one," he said.
Green Bay's 31-25 victory over the Steelers was bad news for Vegas.
"The Packers and the over (the game's total points -- XLV's total was between 44 and 45) was the worst-case scenario for most sports books, maybe 90 percent of them," Kornegay recalled.
Traditionally, most fans bet the favorite -- the Packers were three point favorites -- and take the over, feeling they can enjoy the game more by rooting for both teams to score.
Nevada sports books took in $87.5 million in Super Bowl bets last year, a 6 percent increase over 2010, and Kornegay expects a similar bump this weekend.
"The Super Bowl is an event that sells itself," he said. "You don't need two popular teams, but it does help a little. We'd rather see these two teams than the Ravens and the Panthers. We should see improvement over last year."
Kornegay cites the 2006 Super Bowl as proof that high-profile teams aren't necessary to attract wagers. That contest between the Steelers and Seahawks attracted $94.5 million in bets, still the highest total in Nevada gaming history.
"Of course the economy was very strong then," Kornegay said. "The Super Bowl often reflects the state of the economy."
This year, the Patriots opened as 3-1/2-point favorites. The line dropped briefly to 2-1/2 and now stands at 3. The over-under has stayed consistently at 55. But Kornegay says those numbers could change as the kickoff draws closer.
"Eighty percent of the action comes in the last two days," he said. "We're not there yet. Friday night into Saturday, once the public gets into town, with hotels offering three-night packages you might start seeing movement there."
Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest betting day of the year in Nevada. But it is not necessarily a make-or-break day for the sports betting business. The book's most desired scenario is to have equal money on both sides of the outcome. The house charges 10 percent on most bets -- you'd need to bet $110 to win $100 -- and would make a handsome profit regardless of the final score in an ideal 50-50 equation.
"If it's lopsided where we could have a large decision it could affect the next six months," Kornegay said. "On the other hand, if it's pretty balanced, there could be no major decision. It all depends on the action we get.
"(The Super Bowl) definitely affects the shows, the restaurants, bartenders, cab drivers, you name it. This is just a great event. It's a three-day party for people who come to Las Vegas."
