Patrick Everson
FOX Sports Betting Analyst
College football season hasn’t even started and bettors are already looking to the Jan. 19 College Football Playoff Championship Game.
That includes a DraftKings Sportsbook customer looking to turn a few bucks into a lot more on a three-leg parlay.
Read on for more on that customer’s wager and other notable bets as the calendar heads toward August.
Forward Thinking
Way back in April, a day before the Masters began, a bettor at DraftKings put a mere $14 on this three-leg futures parlay:
- Rory McIlroy +650 to win the Masters
- Florida Panthers +800 to win the Stanley Cup
- Clemson +2000 to win the College Football Playoff
Add those three up, and you’ve got odds of +141650, or in easier-to-digest terms, about 1417/1.
The first two legs have long since delivered. McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a playoff to win the Masters, and for the second straight year, Florida topped Edmonton to win the Stanley Cup.
So it’s up to Clemson to finish it off.
If the Tigers win it all, then that 14 bucks turns into $19,845.
It’s not far-fetched, either. Clemson has been a sharp offseason play in College Football Playoff odds, so much so that DraftKings has cut the Tigers’ odds in half. Clemson is now the +1000 fifth choice to win the national title, behind only Ohio State (+500), Texas (+550), Georgia (+700) and Penn State (+750).
Baseball Bingo
Most of us don’t know what it’s like to cash a 12-leg parlay. Not only because most of us don’t make 12-leg parlay bets, but more so because those bets rarely hit.
But when they do, the payout is pretty good. A William Hill US customer in Nevada found that out on Sunday.
The bettor mixed in some moneyline, runline and Over/Under plays on Sunday’s MLB slate, wagering all of $5, at monster odds of +252029 — just beyond 2520/1.
Adding to the difficulty: six legs were on in-game odds.
All 12 legs got to the finish line, turning that bettor’s five bucks into a healthy $12,601.49.
On Wednesday, another lottery-ticket-style win surfaced, at Caesars Sports. A Nevada customer crafted a nine-leg parlay on MLB player props.
The wager was $10.
Add up all those odds, and it totals out to about +114001, or 1140/1. Somehow, every leg got there and the bettor ended up with $11,408.22.
Punting on Pittsburgh
Back to football, NFL odds are starting to percolate, too. The preseason kicks off Thursday with the Hall of Fame Game, pitting the Indianapolis Colts against the Baltimore Ravens. The regular season is just six weeks away.
One of the more intriguing bets so far comes from a bettor who’s hoping Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers have a complete disaster of a season. Caesars Sports took a $13.33 wager on the Steelers to go 0-17, at odds of +20000 (200/1).
Keep in mind, the Steelers have never even had a losing record in 18 years under coach Mike Tomlin. But if somehow Pittsburgh runs totally off the rails this season, then that small wager turns into $2,679.33.
I Like Big Bets and I Cannot Lie
When it comes to NFL futures betting, it’s usually Super Bowl odds that attract the biggest wagers. AFC and NFC championship odds often see some high-dollar plays, as well.
But one of the biggest bets of the offseason is actually on division odds, specifically on the Buffalo Bills to win the AFC East.
A Caesars Sports customer plopped down a massive $250,000 on the Bills -250. If Josh Allen & Co. win their sixth straight AFC East title, then the bettor will profit $100,000 (total payout $350,000).
In Super Bowl odds, Caesars took a $60,000 bet on the Kansas City Chiefs +900. If K.C. gets back on track and wins its third title in four seasons, then the bettor collects $540,000 in profit (total payout $600,000).
Caesars took a comparatively much more modest bet on the New York Jets to win the AFC title. An optimistic customer put $5,000 on the Jets +7500 to lift the Lamar Hunt Trophy.
In the unlikely event that the Jets earn a trip to the Super Bowl, the bettor will profit a hefty $375,000.
All I can say is good luck. It’d be a phenomenal story to write about.
Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on X: @PatrickE_Vegas.
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