Monday night’s National Championship game between Virginia and Texas Tech has plenty of intrigue, even amid negative buzz due to the defensive-minded styles of both teams. However, one sports bettor has a bit more invested in the outcome than most, and his story came to light through a piece from Ben Fawkes of ESPN.
In short, an individual that John Murray of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook terms as a “well-known player” grabbed a future bet on the Red Raiders at a price that would seem obscene in retrospect. Though Chris Beard’s team was clearly rounding into form by the end of the campaign as a No. 3 seed, Texas Tech was 200-to-1 to win the 2019 title back in November and this opportunistic handicapper jumped in with a bet of $1,500 on the Red Raiders.
Amusingly, however, the bettor wanted more than $1,500 on Texas Tech but he was declined.
“He’s a well-known player who takes a lot of futures positions with us,” Murray shared with ESPN. “He asked for more, to which we said, ‘No.’ I think to win $300K is pretty good.”
Even without further detail, that is a fairly wild story, simply because of the immense value in play. Beyond that, though, the bettor is choosing not to “hedge” in placing a specific bet on Virginia (the Cavaliers are only modest favorites over Texas Tech in the final) in advance of the title game, simply letting it ride and rooting hard for the Red Raiders.
It is worth noting that the story indicates the bettor has made “several” bets on Virginia, guaranteeing a profit, and the individual sold a $800 ticket on Texas Tech at 125-1 odds (for a total of $100,000) on a secondary broker in PropSwap. That allowed him to recoup more than $20,000 on the original $800 investment which, of course, isn’t bad work, and it also frees up the handicapper for a bit of extra gambling.
The full story is absolutely worth a read for the mania and, in addition, a look inside the mind of an advanced handicapper that understands the market at a high level. Among the details, though, is the fact that Dez Bryant (of Dallas Cowboys fame) offered $125,000 for the ticket on PropSwap and, to put it plainly, it has clearly been a heck of a ride for this bettor as he rides with Texas Tech to the brink of a big-time winner.
