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Sports bettors came together in Week 2 of the NFL slate to hit a sportsbook for $20 million in payouts. A ridiculous FG parlay was the wager placed by more than 20,000 gamblers over the weekend, and it turned out to be costly for the house.
The bet started when a popular Discord channel “GoldBoys” targeted a parlay involving every single NFL game in the afternoon slate (1PM and 4PM kickoffs). The 12-game wager called for every team to make a field goal.
Listed at 200-1 odds on FanDuel, the channel believed the chances of the parlay hitting to be more likely than those +20000 odds suggested. The originator then shopped around other sportsbooks to compare.
DraftKings came in at 30-1, leading him to place a $1,584 bet that would net just under $317,000. He then filled his Discord followers in on the wager resulting in 21,000 more tickets being placed.
When New York Giants’ kicker Graham Gano drilled a game-winning field goal with 19 seconds left to beat the Cardinals, the bet hit. FanDuel was instantly on the hook for a $20 million payout.
The company’s social media accounts posted a message to congratulate winners.
“Every NFL team made at least 1 FG during the afternoon slates of Week 2… Finance team just called: We’re paying out more than $20 MILLION to FanDuel customers who locked in this bet!”
ESPN’s stat team ran a model on the probability of the bet cashing after the fact.
“Over the past 10 seasons, 81.9% of teams have made at least one field goal in a game,” the site said. “So, using that baseline percentage, on an afternoon slate featuring 12 games, like this past Sunday, there is a 0.84% chance that every team makes a field goal on an afternoon slate featuring 12 games, like this past Sunday.”
It also found that over the last 20 years, there has been only one other instance in which every team in the afternoon games made at least one field goal (10/10/2010).
Those that cashed the FG parlay celebrated with a hefty payout. Those that didn’t gave their thoughts online.
“LOVE to see it!” one follower wrote.
“How did I miss this?” asked another.
“They’ll never run this again,” someone else said.
What a way to start your NFL betting season.