Super Bowl 45 betting audio: Jimmy Vaccaro explains roots of prop bet explosion

Las Vegas bookmaking legend Jimmy Vaccaro took us back in history and discussed when proposition betting took off. Back in 1986, prop bets existed, but the sportsbook didn’t have hundreds of them and they certainly weren’t as exotic as they are today around Vegas and the world.

Vaccaro said the prop bet phenomenon exploded after Super Bowl 20, where William “The Refrigerator” Perry scored a touchdown. Vaccaro, running the MGM book at the time, said the moment Fridge scored, the book lost $35,000.

Not a great moment, but there was a silver lining as Jimmy explains.

Vaccaro also disagrees with betting analysts like Kenny White and Dave Cokin, who think Super Bowl XLV will set the all time Nevada betting handle.