Memorable sports bets

Since moving to Las Vegas I've made my first sports bet about when the last season in NFL started. I actually don't know much about how to play football, but enjoy watching the games on TV, + it's great for passing the time or meeting people in bars for business. Anyway I got pretty lucky, since I lived in Washington a few years before I moved so I just bet on the Seahawks every game lol.

What are some of your best/worst/memorable bets in your life regarding sports? I saw the Superbowl at a casino party, and hung out with some friends and made a lot of prop bets, which were fun and of course the Seahawks blowing out the Broncos didn't hurt :)

Last NCAA tournament.

Michigan State -1
Virginia +3

Game fell Michigan State 61-59 for a perfect middle.

Darth

Man I am getting old. My most memorable bet is starting to fade and I do not remember the teams or year.

Anyways, it was approx 2004. I had a 10 team parlay and was 9-0 with my 10th game an under 40 something. The last game was something like 11-14 in the 4th quarter. Well they tied it and it went to overtime. I was already counting my huge win. 5 or 6 overtimes later and the game goes over by 40.

I can remember that the teams were from the south and are rivals. My first thinking is that it was Arkansas vs Alabama but I dont think that is right.

come to think about it. It was not really a bet but a superbowl poll. Steelers vs Cardinals. score was 10-7 Arizona. My buddy had 0-0 and I had 7-7. I told him, watch this interception for a touchdown and I win $1500. He of course was rooting for Pgh to stop them and kick a FG for 0-0.

Seconds later this happened.

My most memorable bet was the largest sports bet that I have ever made. I bet the number one ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers -24 points over Arizona State.

Arizona State shuts out Nebraska 19-0. Talk about feeling foolish on the biggest bet I have ever made.

Quote: GWAE

Man I am getting old. My most memorable bet is starting to fade and I do not remember the teams or year.

Anyways, it was approx 2004. I had a 10 team parlay and was 9-0 with my 10th game an under 40 something. The last game was something like 11-14 in the 4th quarter. Well they tied it and it went to overtime. I was already counting my huge win. 5 or 6 overtimes later and the game goes over by 40.

I can remember that the teams were from the south and are rivals. My first thinking is that it was Arkansas vs Alabama but I dont think that is right.

I remember the game now. I feel better that it just randomly entered my brain while eating dinner.
It was Arkansas vs Mississippi. Tied 17-17 then went to 7 overtimes with a final of 58-56. It made me cry.

One memorable bet:

$35 to win on Birdstone (36-1) in the 2004 Belmont Stakes. Bet made @ Flamingo Laughlin on a road trip to California. Could not watch the race (driving to California), but heard the results on the radio a few hours after the race.

My most memorable sports bet took place around 1989. I went on a three day trip at the Flamingo following my divorce. I was pretty down mentally and just wanted to get away from home. After playing blackjack all night with the same group of people, we were all comped for breakfast. While eating with one of the guys I met at the blackjack table, he convinced me that he was really good at picking pro football games. So we went to bet on games. I bet on his recommendations and lost $800 of the $1200 that I had won at blackjack. He did not pick one winner.

By the way, one of the players at that table was asked for his room number so he could be comped and his comment back to the pit boss was " I'm only here for three days, who needs a room." I was hoping that I didn't run into him on his third day there.

Easy one for me. I had Manny Pacquiao to beat Tim Bradley in their first fight. It was the biggest bet I'd ever made at the time. Bradley was never a power puncher to begin with and he was moving up in weight to the fight, which usually diminishes punching power. That meant a Pac KO, or far more likely, a decision. I expected Manny to win anyway, but reasoned that if it was even close, Manny would get the nod. The man brought millions of dollars to Vegas, with whales flying in from Asia and fans coming in from California and around the world. Nevada judges almost had a moral obligation to favor Manny!

I don't sweat fights on TV because I need to play poker on Saturdays, and anyway, I don't really have much true degen in me. Watching the fight makes me miserable, not excited. However, I did bring a tablet to the poker room because so much money (for me) was on this one. I followed Kevin Iole of Yahoo sports as he gave updates from ring side Every report indicated that Manny was coasting to an easy victory. He had no doubt about it. When the fight was over, he had Manny up 9 rounds to 3 or something. He polled the other journalists around him and they all gave similar scores. Nobody even had it close. I closed my tablet.

Some time later I was looking at the crawl on ESPN. "Tim Bradley defeats Manny Pacquiao by split decision to win the WBO welterweight world championship." Several seconds of straight up denial of what I had read, then felt the sinking feeling.

I spent countless hours on the internet in the following days, trying to figure out the conspiracy. Was it Bob Arum? The CIA? Aliens? I couldn't bring myself to actually watch the fight, though.

I ultimately learned a lot from this. I did a lot of research on judging and a lot of thinking about how it works. I started keeping notes on judges. Funny how over looked they are, given that they chose the winners in most fights. However, no account of this particular fight ever really made sense to me. Everything I learned only confirmed, judges usually do what's best for business.

When I finally healed, I watched the fight and thought it was closer than many claimed, though Manny was still the clear winner. I've certainly seen worse decisions. Some have said the judges were pissed at Manny because he delayed entering the ring for 45 minutes to sweat his own big bet, on a basketball game. Perhaps this combined with simple errors to skew things to Bradley. That's not very satisfying, but the best I could ever come up with.

Number 2 was perhaps the last Mayweather fight. A new biggest bet of all time for me. Mayweather by decision -180. Free money. It wasn't, of course, as Marcos Maidana gave Floyd his best fight in about 10 years, but Mayweather pulled it out, much to my relief and then joy.

December 2, 1985. Monday Night Football. The 12-0 Chicago Bears who had crushed everything in their path were only 2 point favorites playing at the 8-4 Miami Dolphins, who had looked very average most of the season by Dolphin standards. It seemed to me like the line was just flat wrong. I bet very big for me at the time on Chicago giving the 2 points.

Miami pretty much had the game won by halftime and I felt sick for about a week.

It went on to be the only game Chicago would lose all season on their way to s Superbowl championship.

1986 Kentucky Derby. SpendABuck was going off at a full 4 to 1. I went 50/50 on him. This was a lightning horse positioned well and peaking in form.
Asthe horses headed into the stretch, the 1mi fraction IIRC was 1:37 1/5, and I started yelling "Two Minutes!!!".
At the wire... 2:00 1/5 the third fastest Derby. I cashed in 9.80 and 5.20 at the Teletheater (x25 each).

Sadly, he goes to the Jersey Derby (Meadowlands) missing the Crown, but getting a rather large bonus instead.

Quote: darthvader

Last NCAA tournament.

Michigan State -1
Virginia +3

Game fell Michigan State 61-59 for a perfect middle.

Darth

How does this middle work? This sounds interesting but I can't make sense of spreads and middles.

Quote: djatc

How does this middle work? This sounds interesting but I can't make sense of spreads and middles.

He made one bet on Michigan State -1. He made the other bet on Virginia +3. Michigan State won by 2 so both bets won.

Do you not understand what a point spread is? You just add or subtract points from the team's score. Instead of changing the odds of the bet (so that the underdog pays more and the favorite pays less) they just add points to the underdog's score and keep the payouts the same on both.

So Michigan state started out as a 1 pt favorite. So he bet them. Then they moved to a 3 pt favorite. So he bet against them at the new spead. It landed in the middle of the two spreads so both bets won (at least one of the bets was guaranteed to win)

i cant find it but there was an article last year about someone in delaware having an open ticket with one game left and no way to hedge on a 12 team parlay I think

Quote: FunkyDoctor

December 2, 1985. Monday Night Football. The 12-0 Chicago Bears who had crushed everything in their path were only 2 point favorites playing at the 8-4 Miami Dolphins, who had looked very average most of the season by Dolphin standards. It seemed to me like the line was just flat wrong. I bet very big for me at the time on Chicago giving the 2 points.

Miami pretty much had the game won by halftime and I felt sick for about a week.

It went on to be the only game Chicago would lose all season on their way to s Superbowl championship.

That was Dan Marino's coming out party to the national media. Everyone knew him after that game.

Quote: Boz

That was Dan Marino's coming out party to the national media. Everyone knew him after that game.

The previous season, he had shattered the previous single-season records for yards, completions, and touchdowns, and he went to the Super Bowl. I think people already knew who he was.

The touchdown record was particularly impressive -- he threw 48; the previous record had been 36, set over 2 decades prior.

Soviets -1 vs USA 1980, for $5, I was 14 at the time and I was sure I was stealing.

Quote: AxiomOfChoice

He made one bet on Michigan State -1. He made the other bet on Virginia +3. Michigan State won by 2 so both bets won.

Do you not understand what a point spread is? You just add or subtract points from the team's score. Instead of changing the odds of the bet (so that the underdog pays more and the favorite pays less) they just add points to the underdog's score and keep the payouts the same on both.

So Michigan state started out as a 1 pt favorite. So he bet them. Then they moved to a 3 pt favorite. So he bet against them at the new spead. It landed in the middle of the two spreads so both bets won (at least one of the bets was guaranteed to win)

Oh now that makes sense. 61-59 with -1 wins with 60-59, and 61-59 with +3 wins 61-62.

I haven't made many bets since I started sports betting, so the only memorable bet I can think of is the Seahawks vs Broncos at the Superbowl. When the line first came out it was even money, and I made a quick bet at the sportsbook for the Seahawks to win. After that the line moved with the Broncos giving points so I was a bit worried.

Some offshore betting sites had some prop bets (length of National Anthem, what song will Bruno Mars perform first, will it snow when the game starts) that I missed. Whatever I was thinking was right, so I feel I missed some good bets.

Quote: AxiomOfChoice

The previous season, he had shattered the previous single-season records for yards, completions, and touchdowns, and he went to the Super Bowl. I think people already knew who he was.

The touchdown record was particularly impressive -- he threw 48; the previous record had been 36, set over 2 decades prior.

You are 100% correct. I must have been thinking of an earlier Marino game in my hazed mind.

Quote: 3for3

Soviets -1 vs USA 1980, for $5, I was 14 at the time and I was sure I was stealing.

You should have included a "Tretiak has to be in goal at least 45 minutes or no bet" condition.

2003 Superbowl: I was working at my first job as a cook part time during high school, and managed to save enough money to buy myself a pair of turntables and some records. My manager at the time wanted to make a bet with me for my turntables (est. value $300 or so) and I could choose the team. Problem is I never watched a game of football in my life, so I couldn't pick the favorite without extensive research. This bet happened during my shift so I didn't get to google anything, as well as use a smart phone (2003 lol) to figure it out.

The story ends with me making a last minute change a day before the game from my turntables which I saved all my freshman year lunch money, to $20. I can't even remember the teams or anything, just that I lost.

Another big one about to be unveiled later today...... it's regarding tonight's game, so hopefully variance is in my favor.

EDIT: Won the 1/2 point 5 teamer, had to hedge. More details soon.

Funny (or not) how most of the memorable bets were losers!

Mine too - 2008 Steelers vs. Chargers. Steelers were giving something like 4.5 points. Chargers were down 1 with seconds to go, and I remember thinking "maybe Polomalu will return an INT for a TD". Sure enough, the Chargers try one of those wacky laterals all over the place plays, and Troy jumps in front of one and takes it in for a TD. Suddenly defeat turned into a winner!

But, the refs called an illegal forward lateral at some point. There was much discussion, replays were viewed with no sign of a forward lateral, at one point the scoreboard was changed to count the Steeler's points, but (and at least in my memory, this was at least 10-15 minutes after the game had ended) the final decision was the TD did not count.

There was a lot of talk about this game for the next couple of days since the obviously incorrect call was not overturned despite video showing that the TD should have counted.

Oh well, it would have been a fluke of a win . . .

I've only made one, but it was indeed memorable...

2012 Daytona 500. I bet Gordo at 8:1, Kenseth at 12:1, and Bowyer at 20:1. From the jump Bowyer was strong, in the top 5 all race, leading many laps. He eventually pushed his strategy too hard and ran out of gas, going several laps down.

Gordo then took over the lead, also staying in the top 5 all race. But Daytona had just been repaved that week, and the higher speeds did the Hendrick motor in. Gordo puked a motor in the second third of the race, leaving only Kenseth left.

But Kenseth was up there, too. He took the lead with many laps to go, and somehow kept holding it. Super Speedways change leads sometimes several times a lap, but ol' Matty kept holding it. 10 to go, still leading. 9-8-7 to go, still leading.

Then there was a caution, and everything changed. Everyone was coming in, who knew what was gonna happen. But Kenseth kept the lead after the stop, then BLAMMO! JPM hammered the jet drier under the yellow and the track erupted in flames.

With a freshly paved track, I though for sure the soft asphalt was gonna melt, the race was gonna end, and Kenseth would be the winner. I was so pumped. Then I realized 5 guys stayed out to get laps back, and Kenseth was technically 6th. I was so bummed. I left the sportsbook to go mess around for awhile.

2 hours later and the track still wasn't fixed, but it was gonna be fixed. So a bit after that the race resumes, those 5 pit, and Kenseth was back in the lead.

5-4-3, still leading. And anyone who knows anything knows whoever leads to the white flag on a SS is liable to finish 15th or lower once everyone freight trains him. But his teammate was pushing him, and as they came home, his teammate didn't bail. Kenseth won it, and my bet came through.

100% on sports book wins. Look for my new book on Amazon, coming soon.

Quote: DRich

My most memorable bet was the largest sports bet that I have ever made. I bet the number one ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers -24 points over Arizona State.

Arizona State shuts out Nebraska 19-0. Talk about feeling foolish on the biggest bet I have ever made.

I remember that game well. That was early in the '96 season when Nebraska was B2B national champions and riding about a 25 game winning streak. ASU was really pumped up and put it to 'em that night. At that particular time, Nebraska probably had as much mystique as any program has ever had. It was a Tyson-Douglas type of upset.

Personally, I bet a little bit on college football. I love the sport. I was born and raised in Alabama (CFB is as big here as it is anywhere) and played football at UA for four years.

Quote: GenWyzgy

Funny (or not) how most of the memorable bets were losers!

Mine too - 2008 Steelers vs. Chargers. Steelers were giving something like 4.5 points. Chargers were down 1 with seconds to go, and I remember thinking "maybe Polomalu will return an INT for a TD". Sure enough, the Chargers try one of those wacky laterals all over the place plays, and Troy jumps in front of one and takes it in for a TD. Suddenly defeat turned into a winner!

But, the refs called an illegal forward lateral at some point. There was much discussion, replays were viewed with no sign of a forward lateral, at one point the scoreboard was changed to count the Steeler's points, but (and at least in my memory, this was at least 10-15 minutes after the game had ended) the final decision was the TD did not count.

There was a lot of talk about this game for the next couple of days since the obviously incorrect call was not overturned despite video showing that the TD should have counted.

Oh well, it would have been a fluke of a win . . .

I was at the sportsbook in the Rio when this happened. I had no money on this game but vividly remember people going nuts when they thought Pittsburgh scored... And going even more nuts when it was reversed. That was fun to watch

Quote: Beardgoat

I was at the sportsbook in the Rio when this happened. I had no money on this game but vividly remember people going nuts when they thought Pittsburgh scored... And going even more nuts when it was reversed. That was fun to watch

Watching a Super Bowl at a Vegas sportsbook would be a lot of fun, I think. I go to sports bars sometimes during college football Saturdays mainly just to people watch because folks get so mad, so happy over the games being played. I can only imagine how that would be in a setting where just about everyone has something on the game and many probably have quite a bit on it.

I was at the sportsbook at the South Point, and even though I lost the bet, it was a ton of fun bitching/yelling/high-fiving/etc. with the other bettors. It really was a strange way for a game to end.

Here's what I usually see:

Guys cheering the other team because they messed up a play.

Old people bitching about being old and how the game was better in the "old days"

Some donkey claiming they knew it when the scores reverse in the 4th

Vultures picking up tickets on the ground

LINES AT THE HOT DOG STAND, GET SOME MORE FFS

Well....got most of you beat.....

Yes, I'm one of those few who had the Kansas City Royals at a 2 to 1 underdog against the Yankees when, yap, the "Pine Tar" incident happened. George Brett had his home run taken down off the scoreboard and the Yankees won the game. How many times is a home run called back? There may have also been men on base, I don't recall. But it taught me I had a gambling problem because I was as pissed off as George.

Quote: FunkyDoctor

December 2, 1985. Monday Night Football. The 12-0 Chicago Bears who had crushed everything in their path were only 2 point favorites playing at the 8-4 Miami Dolphins, who had looked very average most of the season by Dolphin standards. It seemed to me like the line was just flat wrong. I bet very big for me at the time on Chicago giving the 2 points.

Miami pretty much had the game won by halftime and I felt sick for about a week.

It went on to be the only game Chicago would lose all season on their way to s Superbowl championship.

If I recall correctly, the Miami sideline was filled with the guys from the undefeated season and coach Shula. It was the last chance(maybe a 14 game season back then?) for anyone to beat the Bears so the story went and Dolphin players and fans wanted to avoid the record being shared. A lot of fever in the stands too.

I don't remember exactly what NFL teams but in the 90's, sitting in the Stardust lounge watching the game with friends, I was counting my money from a sports bet while the clock was ticking down. I said to my friends, the only way I can lose this is if the other team blocks this field goal attempted and runs it back for a touchdown. That's exactly what happen.

I just laughed and it didn't bother me, it was almost fun to watch. I imagine people who had the other side were absolutely ecstatic.

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