Derek Stevens hedges bets to win $2M on Marlins

The downtown Las Vegas resort operator placed a $110,000 wager to win $40,000 on the Atlanta Braves (-275) to beat Miami in their NL Division Series, which started Tuesday.

Stevens made his hedge bet Monday at the Westgate sportsbook, where in July he wagered $5,000 to win $1 million on the Marlins to win the NL at 200-1 odds and $2,500 to win $1 million on Miami to win the World Series at 400-1.

“The thing with a futures bet is you don’t have to win it to make a little bit of money,” Stevens said. “When you get long odds, you have the option to hedge so I hedged a little bit on the Braves. And I hope I lose the bet.”

A Michigan native who owns the D Las Vegas, Golden Gate and Circa — scheduled to open Oct. 28 — Stevens also lost two bets that totaled $6,000 at the Westgate to win $2 million on the Detroit Tigers to win the American League pennant and World Series.

“The Tigers and Marlins have got some good young pitchers, and in a short season and what was going on with COVID, I thought it might be the year where a couple long shots come in,” he said.

Detroit finished last in the AL Central with a 23-35 record after going 47-114 in 2019. Miami went 31-29 to place second in the NL East after going 57-105 last year.

After Stevens placed his bets, he cracked that he can use the winnings to help pay for Circa, which is challenging the Westgate for the title of “world’s largest sportsbook.”

“It’s a good friendly rivalry,” Stevens said. “We can have a little fun with this.”

Westgate vice president Jay Kornegay, who joked on Twitter that Stevens “passed on drink tickets” when he made his hedge bet, said he doesn’t see it as a rivalry.

“We understand they’re building something terrific, and we have a great facility ourselves and it always had been,” he said. “We welcome them to the party.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.