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I honestly have no idea how to be a sports gambler, guys. Like, I’ve tossed money at sporting events or on prop bets before, but, somehow, I’m just fucking terrible at doing the one thing you’re supposed to do; win money. For this very reason, you won’t find me wasting my hard earned cash on trying to predict the outcomes of games or award winners, but major respect to those people out there who have the disposable income to do it themselves. Legitimately, I’m impressed.
Thing is, some sports gamblers take things a bit too far. For instance, take this anonymous person who, for some reason, decided that betting $100,500 on the Philadelphia 76ers to make the playoffs at minus-5,000 odds was a good idea. It’s not that the bet won’t (likely) win — after all, the Sixers went 51-31 last season — but the fact that it would only pay out $2,010 just doesn’t seem worth the risk. Like, what happens if the team just gets crushed my injuries? Or they self-destruct in the locker room and have zero leadership? Or, somehow, the Eastern Conference just becomes tougher than it’s been since the Jordan era in the ’90s?
Someone just bet $100.5K on the 76ers at -5000 to make the playoffs 😳
The bet would pay out $2,010
(via @golfodds/@SuperBookUSA) pic.twitter.com/gbvFptwllO
— br_betting (@br_betting) August 1, 2019
Look, those are all unforeseen circumstances that probably won’t happen, but is it really worth taking the chance? Apparently, because one sports gambler just couldn’t help him or herself.
Thing is, this isn’t the first time this very person made an enormous bet like this to win a small amount. According to Jeff Sherman, the vice president of risk for the SuperBook at the Westgate Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, this same sports gambler placed a $67,000 gamble on the Golden State Warriors to make the playoffs last season at minus-10,000 odds, which, after winning, netted a paltry $670 profit. Sure, the gambler won, but, fuck, that $670 seems like a night out for a person betting thousands on sports.
While the Sixers lost players like Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick, the team did add Al Horford and Josh Richardson during the offseason, so there’s no reason to think they won’t reward this sports gambler by reaching the postseason. And, although this person will most likely win $2,000, there seems like so many other ways to do that without sweating out the entire NBA season when anything can happen. Seems like this person might need to find a better hobby.