Every week there is at least one wacky story that emerges from the Las Vegas sports betting scene.
This past weekend, one of the wildest stories of the year came out of the Westgate SuperBook on college football Saturday.
According to SuperBook Vice President Jay Kornegay, one unnamed guest placed a $50,000 wager on the Clemson money line at -5000 versus North Carolina.
The return on said five-figure wager: $1,000.
That’s right.
Risk losing $50,000, with the potential of winning $1,000.
Seems like a safe bet on paper, despite the horrific risk/reward proposition, right?
Clemson, favored by 28.5 points going into this game, was the top-ranked team in the country (they have since slid to No. 3) with a likely future No. 1 overall NFL draft pick playing quarterback (and several additional first-rounders on their roster as well), while North Carolina is in the midst of a rebuilding job under legendary head coach Mack Brown, who is in the first year of his second stint running the program in Chapel Hill.
After battling to a 14-14 tie through three quarters, it became clear that not only would the defending national champions not cover the 28.5-point spread, they were also in danger of losing outright to an unranked team.
Clemson scored the go-ahead touchdown with just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. North Carolina eventually answered with a touchdown of their own with 1:17 left in the game.
That’s where the aforementioned bettor really began to sweat — if they weren’t already in full-on panic-mode.
Rather than kick the extra point and hope for overtime, Brown kept his offense on the field and went for a two-point conversion that would have put the Tar Heels ahead by one.
The Clemson defense stuffed North Carolina’s option attempt and sealed the win, saving the Westgate guest from one of the more embarrassing sports betting losses in recent memory.
In the end the bettor walked away $1,000 richer, but likely added a few grey hairs to their head in the process.
The SuperBook ultimately had a solid weekend in both college and NFL, despite narrowly missing out on the $50,000 wager, Kornergay said.
Who, their right mind, best $50,000 to win $1,000?
Maybe he should have lost to wake his a$$ up….