Bettor wins $680K on parlay, then book sweats $900K payout
A Caesars Sportsbook bettor turned $10,000 into $680,000 on Saturday after hitting a two-team college football money-line parlay.
The unidentified bettor from New York parlayed Georgia Tech at +1,050 with Florida International at +500.
Georgia Tech stunned Pittsburgh 26-21 as a 21½-point underdog. The Yellow Jackets turned three second-half turnovers by the Panthers into 13 points to take a 19-7 lead. They sealed the upset win when Jeff Sims scored on an 18-yard touchdown run to make it 26-14 with 1:25 left.
The gambler didn’t have to sweat the other leg of the parlay. Florida International, a 15-point underdog, never trailed in a 21-7 victory over New Mexico State.
On Sunday afternoon, the bettor made Caesars bookmakers sweat a little after he placed a $9,000 four-team, money-line parlay to win $903,000.
“He felt like the sweat wasn’t enough for us (Saturday), so he decided to pour more on,” Caesars vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said. “It’s like being in the sauna when they pour more coal on.”
The gambler hit the first two legs of the parlay on Colorado (+215) and Oakland (+215). The Rockies defeated the Dodgers 4-1 and the Athletics beat the Mariners 10-3.
He needed the Patriots (+360) to upset the Packers and the Broncos (+122) to beat the Raiders to cash the ticket and push his weekend winnings to $1.58 million.
The book was in position to kill the parlay and an avalanche of bets on the Raiders -2½ when Russell Wilson scored a touchdown for Denver with 7:16 left to cut its deficit to 25-23.
“A two-point win would’ve been great,” Mucklow said.
Caesars had to settle for killing the parlay as it suffered an almost seven-figure loss on the Raiders, who answered with a TD drive to seal their 32-23 win.
“Once we knew the Raiders result, we were Patriots fans,” Caesars assistant director of trading Adam Pullen said.
New England, a 9½-point underdog, led Green Bay 24-17 midway through the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field before the Packers tied it and pulled out a 27-24 win in overtime.
“It was a good result, but there were a lot of money-line parlays and teasers all going to the Packers,” Pullen said. “We needed the Patriots to win the game outright.”
A lot to win a little
A bettor at Caesars Palace wagered $575,000 to win $12,777.80 on Southern California to beat Arizona State at -4,500 on the money line.
The Trojans beat the Sun Devils 42-25. But they made the bettor sweat a bit before he could cash the ticket. USC, a 24½-point favorite, led 21-17 at halftime and was still clinging to that lead late in the third quarter before Travis Dye scored on a 2-yard TD run to make it 28-17.
A BetMGM bettor wagered $85,000 to win $3,400 on Brigham Young to beat Utah State at -2,500 on the money line.
The Cougars beat the Aggies 38-26 to cash the ticket. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the bettor. Utah State led 7-0 and 17-14 and the game was tied at 17-all at halftime. BYU, a 26-point favorite, led only 24-20 midway through the third quarter before pulling away.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.