- For a parlay to be successful, all selections, or “legs”, must be correct for the entire bet to win.
- As each additional leg is added on to a parlay, the odds increase (generally) by 100%.
- Needing the Washington Redskins to win MNF, the bettor missed a 20-team parlay worth $499,888.80.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – What is worse? Losing a wager in the last moments of a game because of a bad call or shocking play, or losing a 20-team parlay on the last leg?
One bettor this past weekend risked 89 cents on a 20-team parlay in what they thought was a hope and a prayer to win just shy of half-a-million dollars.
Someone out there can win $500,000 on an 89-cent bet if the Redskins win tonight 😮
(reallifedannytanner/Reddit) pic.twitter.com/0kWTiTKly7
— B/R Betting (@br_betting) September 23, 2019
The parlay started on Thursday with the Tulane Green Wave and Houston Cougars game as well as the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars game. An easy two for two on the night for the bettor could have resulted in a $2.35 profit had the parlay stopped there.
But this story is about a half-million-dollars on the line at odds of 561,672.8 to 1, so the end is nowhere close in sight.
Moving into Friday, the bettor needed only three college football games to continue into the weekend. The Utah Utes and USC Trojans game came strikingly close to killing the parlay – hitting the over by a half-point on a 38-yard field goal from Utah with four minutes left in the game. $21.68 could have been made here if the parlay was finished after five legs.
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However, as Saturday’s noon games of college football concluded, the bettor stood a little taller, having correctly guessed 16 of their 20 selections. At this moment, the 89-cent parlay was worth $27,707.79 and there is a near guarantee that all of the bettor’s friends were pooling their money together to help hedge the remaining four selections.
With one added game each from the 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. college games, the bettor was sitting 19 of 20 correct selections at the end of the games – and more than likely in disbelief that this was even a contest at this point.
The 19 of 20 correct selections would have paid the bettor an astounding $192,794.03 had the parlay stopped here. But there was one more game to go.
Sunday rolled around and the bettor had a day to breathe with no NFL games on the parlay docket. The internet picked up on the ridiculous parlay and bettors from all over the world were screaming “hedge your bet”.
In comes Monday Night Football, and the bettor needed the Washington Redskins to beat the Chicago Bears. The bet on the Redskins was the only leg of the parlay that was an underdog, and wouldn’t you know it, this is where the parlay fell short of the monster payout.
Whether the bettor hedged their wager, sold their ticket, or now never wants to see the world again is unsure. Either way, other bettors would have been telling this bettor that their decision was dumb.
“How could you hedge after you had 19 of 20?” “Why wouldn’t you hedge when you’re almost guaranteed a profit?”
No matter the result, USAOnlineSportsbooks.com thinks the bettor did extremely well for the circumstances despite not making any money.
Michael spends most of his time betting on over/unders and analyzing algorithms in attempts to beat the book. His focus on statistics comes from an early understanding of mathematics as well as knowledge of opportunity costs. Michael enjoys playing basketball and reading about the NBA whenever he has the free time. When he is not writing, he can be found in Mississippi hitting the sportsbooks and enjoying a margarita… on the rocks, no salt.
