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Bettor places $1.3M wager on Chiefs, while public backs Bills

A bettor at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas placed a $1.3 million wager on the Kansas City Chiefs to defeat the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game, Caesars Sportsbook head of football Joey Feazel told ESPN.

Placed with -130 odds on Monday, the money-line bet would net $1 million in winnings if the Chiefs win on Sunday.

The marquee matchup has bettors flocking to wager, with DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello telling ESPN that he is expecting it to be one of the largest non-Super Bowl handles the book has ever seen. Despite some big money from the one huge wager at Caesars and some other big bets on Kansas City, Avello and Feazel both say the money has been relatively equal on the two sides.

Much of the support for Buffalo is coming from the betting public, which generally places smaller wagers than the sharp bettors. ESPN BET reports 71.7% of bets are backing the Bills spread (+2) and 68.9% of tickets are on their money line (+110) as of Friday afternoon.

"If you talk to a lot of football people, the people that bet and watch, they'll tell you they're tired of the Chiefs," Avello said. "They're also tired of the Bills losing. The Bills have been in this position before, they've had many opportunities over the last five years to win the whole thing, and they haven't. And now you have to go to Kansas City and win a football game, which is not easy."

Kansas City has beaten Buffalo all three times they faced each other in the playoffs during the Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen eras, but the Bills defeated the Chiefs 30-21 in Week 11 of the regular season in Buffalo.

While bets like the $1.3 million wager are not uncommon at this time of year, they generally don't show up until the Super Bowl and are not usually placed on a line this tight.

During the regular season, a Kentucky bettor narrowly escaped with almost $443,000 in winnings after betting $3.1 million on the Philadelphia Eagles to beat the Carolina Panthers at -700 odds in Week 14. In Week 12, a bettor at Caesars Palace lost $1 million after the Los Angeles Rams failed to cover as a three-point underdog against the Eagles at -120 odds.