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Amazon and Super Bowl: Philly, always an underdog

But what do the oddsmakers know? Gamblers favored the Falcons and the Vikings over the Eagles in this year's previous NFL playoff games; Philadelphia beat Atlanta and stomped Minnesota.

The Philadelphia skyline seen from the South Street Bridge over the Schuylkill October 1, 2017. Skyline includes the still-under-construction Comcast Technology Center and Comcast Center; One and Two Liberty Place. The city bid for the Amazon HQ2 second headquarters.
The Philadelphia skyline seen from the South Street Bridge over the Schuylkill October 1, 2017. Skyline includes the still-under-construction Comcast Technology Center and Comcast Center; One and Two Liberty Place. The city bid for the Amazon HQ2 second headquarters.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer

Philadelphia's NFL Eagles may have beaten gamblers' odds to make it to the Super Bowl. But oddsmakers still rate the city far below Boston, the rival New England Patriots' metro  near-home — not just for the big game — but also in the 20-city tech-amenity and taxpayer-subsidy derby Amazon is running to attract the Seattle-based warehouse and delivery giant's second headquarters, according to SportsBettingDime.com. That's a web site set up by Las Vegas sports gamblers Randy McInnis and Zack Garrison to aid people seeking to place online bets.

Atlanta, last year's Super Bowl loser and the first casualty of the Eagles' postseason march, is their 7:1 favorite for Amazon. The Washington, D.C. metro area ranks a close second at 15:2. Boston is near at 8:1.

Western favorites Austin and Denver trail at 12:1, big cities New York and Chicago follow at 14:1, and Philadelphia squeezes into the top half of the field tied with Dallas at 18:1.

Trailing are Newark (N.J.), Pittsburgh, and other ex-factory towns, plus minor-market wanna-bes including the state-capital cities of Columbus, Indianapolis, Nashville and Raleigh.

But what do the oddsmakers know? Gamblers favored the Falcons and the Vikings over the Eagles in this year's previous NFL playoff games; Philadelphia beat Atlanta and stomped Minnesota. If they can't do better than that calling playoff winners, what's the value of their business-siting calls?