Low risk, high reward
Though the schedules and playing environments are certainly odd, sports in the United States are back up and running. It’s not normal for this to be the case, but because of season delays, all four major U.S. sports are in action: the NBA and NHL are in the playoffs, MLB is nearing the end of the abbreviated regular season, and the NFL has completed its first week. As such, there are loads of betting opportunities for those with access to a brick-and-mortar or online sportsbook. And one BetMGM customer took full advantage this weekend, betting $10 on an 11-team parlay and winning $152,341.28.
To quickly review for those who aren’t into sports betting, a parlay is a wager on multiple games at once. All of them must come through to win the bet. Because it is an all-or-nothing bet, the payout is much greater than it would be were one to bet on each game separately.
For instance, if you think the Broncos, Packers, and Chiefs are all going to win next week, you could place three separate moneyline bets. If you lose one, you will still probably come out ahead, since you won the other two games (it depends on the lines, but we’ll just keep it simple). But if you put those teams into a three-team parlay, losing one of the games loses you the entire bet. If there is a push, you can still win, but the parlay is reduced by one game and thus the payout shrinks.
College dogs and unders
The BetMGM customer made a pretty crazy parlay. Nine of the games were college football, one was baseball, and one was on the NBA playoffs.
Two of the college football picks were on Georgia Tech and Arkansas State to win outright, but they were sizable underdogs, 12.5 and 14.5 points, respectively. They both won on the road. He bet on Coastal Carolina as a road underdog against Kansas and CC won by 15.
He bet the University of Texas-San Antonio moneyline, but it took UTSA two overtimes to beat Texas State. That game was almost lost in regulation, too, but Texas State’s kicker missed a late extra point to keep the game tied. He also missed a field goal in the second overtime.
The other college football picks were under 67 on North Carolina-Syracuse (final score: 31-6), under 57 on Iowa State-Louisiana Lafayette (31-14), under 60 on Appalachian State-Charlotte (35-20), under 54 on Army-Louisiana Monroe (37-7), and Duke +20.5 (Duke only lost by 14).
The bettor took the Yankees moneyline and they eeked out a 2-1 win over the Orioles. And for the NBA bet, he went under again for the Lakers-Rockets game. The over/under was 217.5 and the final score ended up 119-96, 2.5 points under the total.
It is interesting that all of his totals bets were unders. I don’t have any stats to back this up, but I would bet (pun intended) that bettors take the over more often because it is easier and more fun psychologically to root for high scores than it is to cheer for bricked shots and three-and-outs.
