Nevada casinos lost $2.6 million on Super Bowl wagers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The New York Giants' upset of the New England Patriots in this year's Super Bowl surprised Las Vegas, too.

Nevada casinos lost nearly $2.6 million to Super Bowl gamblers this year, the state's Gaming Control Board said on Tuesday.

The only other time the casinos lost money on the National Football League's championship game since record-keeping began in 1992 was in 1995, when they paid out a net of around $400,000, control board senior research analyst Frank Streshley said.

The Super Bowl started in 1967.

The 174 sports books at Nevada's casinos took in $92.1 million in wagers on this year's February 3 contest, in which the Giants beat the Patriots 17-14.

Streshley said many bettors took a "moneyline" bet this year -- opting to put money on a simple wager that the underdog Giants would prevail, rather than more complicated point-spread bets.

"The books took a pretty big hit on that," he said.

The Patriots, unbeaten this season until Sunday, were favored to win the Super Bowl by 12 points by most oddsmakers in Las Vegas.

Last year, the casinos posted $12.9 million in winnings from bets totaling $93.1 million.

Major Las Vegas casino operators include Harrah's Entertainment Inc., MGM Mirage, Las Vegas Sands and Station Casinos Inc.

(Reporting by Deena Beasley and Bernie Woodall; Editing by Gary Hill)