LAS VEGAS - Las Vegas bookmakers rushed to halt several odds over the Dallas Cowboys on Friday afternoon after news broke that the NFL had suspended star broker Ezekiel Elliott for six games.
Multiple casinos held back Dallas' bets for the Week 1 home game against the New York Giants. The Cowboys had been listed as favorites by 4.5 points over the Giants in most casinos before the game was removed from the board.
The casinos also stopped accepting bets on total victories in the Dallas season, which had been set at 9.5. Bookmaker managers said they wanted to hear about any possible Cowboys appeal before re-posting the number.
"I want to hear what [the owner of the Cowboys] Jerry Jones has to say," said Chris Andrews, director of the bookmaker at South Point Casino.
The Cowboys had been a popular bet this offseason to win the Super Bowl. Only the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders had drawn more money to win the Super Bowl than the Cowboys at South Point, where Dallas was 5-1 at the beginning of the week.
The Westgate SuperBook changed the Cowboys' odds to win the Super Bowl from 10-1 to 12-1. The Green Bay Packers are now favorites in the NFC with 7-2, followed by Seattle Seahawks with 9-2 and Atlanta Falcons 5-1. Dallas is 6-1.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Friday that Elliott is expected to appeal the suspension, which stems from a violation of the League's personal conduct policies.