Investing.com -- With less than 48 hours remaining before Super Bowl 50, the majority of the U.S. betting public believes Peyton Manning will come up short on Sunday evening in his quest to join Joe Montana and Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to capture multiple Super Bowl and league MVP awards.
When Manning takes on the Carolina Panthers, in possibly the final game of his illustrious career, he will guide a Denver Broncos' team that is currently a six point underdog to the NFC Champion. With bettors placing large amounts of money on the Panthers throughout the early portions of the week, sportsbooks in Las Vegas have been forced to up the line in an attempt to receive a larger proportion of money on the Broncos. As of Thursday night, more than 90% of the cash wagered at the spread had been in favor of Carolina, according to William Hill sportsbooks.
Manning, meanwhile, is the second choice to take home game MVP honors at +360, behind Cam Newton, the overwhelming favorite at odds of -160. A pair of versatile linebackers, Luke Kuechly of Carolina and Von Miller of Denver, are co-third choices at +1800. Panthers cornerback Cortland Finnegan is the team's longest shot on the board at +35000, while Broncos wide receiver Cody Latimer represents Denver's top longshot, also at +35000.
The Las Vegas books are also offering an assortment of prop bets to whet the appetite of their gambling aficionados. Bettors can wager on whether Manning will finish with more completions against Carolina than points scored by Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant when he takes on Golden State a night earlier. Manning is receiving +6.5.
In addition, gamblers can bet on whether Warriors guard Steph Curry will finish with more points against the Thunder than the Panthers accumulate in Sunday's game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Curry's beloved Panthers, who were his favorite team when he grew up in the greater Charlotte-area, are receiving 4.5 points.
For this year's Super Bowl, gamblers are estimated to wager $4.2 billion, according to the American Gaming Association. It represents an 8% increase from the amount wagered on the Super Bowl last year.