With sports betting legalized and a number of states with open sportsbooks for football season, we've seen more stories of crazy bets—both won and lost—than most football seasons. Gamblers are suckers for the possibility of a huge payout of a parlay, though the likelihood of hitting one of these bets is really slim. Don't tell that to one bettor in New Jersey.
An obvious high-roller placed insane amount of money on two parlays last weekend at FanDuel's Meadowlands sportsbook. And the bets paid off. Two parlay bets totaling $2,000—one eight-teamer and one 10-teamer—on mostly college football, with a little NBA mixed in, netted this guy a little less than $300,000 in winnings. A 90-1 hit and a 233-1 hit on the same weekend? Some of the most incredible long-shot victories you'll hear about.
The scary thing? He could've won way more, too. Here are his bets:
Amazingly, just one of those bets didn't win, and it was a push—which means the spread hit exactly on the number, resulting in a tie. Notre Dame defeated Navy by 22 points, right on the number of this bettor's spread, and to be honest, that push should've been a win. With Navy trailing by 23 in the fourth quarter, the Midshipmen scored a touchdown and went for a two-point conversion instead of kicking the extra point, making it a more manageable two-score game instead of trailing by 16. Navy converted, making its deficit 15 points, before Notre Dame punched in a touchdown later in the fourth quarter to put the margin at 22 points.
So, if Navy had either kicked the extra point, or failed the two-point conversion, Notre Dame would've covered the 22-point spread—meaning this guy's payout would've been even more huge. How big? He would've taken home more than $500,000, as Notre Dame appeared in both of his bets.
Of course, the difference in winning $300,000 or $500,000 might not seem too significant to normal folks. But if you're a high-roller like this gambler, there's no doubt you'll be somewhat disappointed.
Still, an amazing hit by this guy.
The best of Golf Digest delivered daily
Sign UpWill be used in accordance with our PRIVACY POLICY