No one likes losing, so why do we keep on betting when most of our bets go up in flame? Because sports betting gives us hope! For that brief period between placing a bet and finding out its outcome, everything is possible.
Unfortunately, for most of us, sports betting does not change our lives for the better. But there are many people out there who have achieved what every bettor dreams of – they’ve hit incredibly high odds.
We’re now going to talk about some of the biggest and the most highly publicizes sports betting wins in recent times.
Leicester City Winning the Premier League
One of the biggest upsets in the history of soccer didn’t happen in a specific match. Instead, it built-up over the course of an entire season. The season we’re talking about is the 2015-16 Premier League season, in which Leicester City won the title.
If you’re not too much of a soccer fan, you might not realize why this was such a big achievement. Only two seasons before, Leicester City weren’t even playing in the top English flight. And in the season before winning the title, they ended only a few spots above the relegation zone.
Obviously, Leicester winning the Premier League wasn’t something that crossed the mind of too many people. And that’s why it’s not surprising why sportsbooks offered extremely long odds on such a scenario. The odds on the Foxes winning the title were 5000-1 (American odds: +500000.00; decimal odds: 5001.00).
In normal circumstances, such long odds would mean that it’s almost impossible for such a scenario to turn out true. But Leicester City did become the Premier League winners in 2016 and some people got a few additional digits on their bank accounts. According to official reports, the sportsbooks in the UK had to pay out a total of about 30 million dollars to bettors who predicted Leicester’s historic success.
One bettor, in particular, caught the eye of the public. In 2015, while she was still at college, Karishma Kapoor decided to support her favorite soccer team by betting 2 GBP (~2.57 USD) that Leicester City are going to win the Premier League. A few months later, she was richer for 10,000 GBP (~12,830 USD).
Betting on Champions
There are many sportsbooks that offer amazing odds on outright bets. You can find some reputable online bookies over at OffshoreSportsbooks.com, which give excellent odds on bets whose result we won’t find out until months into the future. If you want to know why betting on outrights at high odds would be a smart move, you need to hear a story about a guy who won more than half a million on a 50-cent-worth bet.
It was the year 2012 when a bettor from the North of England placed a 30p (~50 cents) bet on a 15-part parley. The accumulative odds were over a million, the reason being that he placed his bet early on in the season.
The things he bet on were season outrights, including the winners of the top 5 English Leagues, the winners of the two top Scottish Leagues, and so on. By mid-May 2013, most of the individual bets of his parley proved to be the winning ones. Only one was left to be played.
The final part of his accumulator was the Champions League winner, which was to be decided on May 25, 2013. His pick was Bayern Munich, who did manage to beat Borussia Dortmund with a late winner scored by Arjen Robben in 89th minute.
Six Wins at 2017 World Series Result in a $14M Payout
The 2017 World Series saw Houston Astros beating Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 in series, but Astros’ players and fans weren’t the only ones celebrating the success. An unnamed Eastern European man in his late twenties had 14 million reasons to celebrate.
His story of betting success is even more exciting than it might seem at first. He didn’t win the 14-million prize by placing a single bet. He did it by betting on six matches of the series. After winning the first one, he decided to keep on going, eventually stopping at Game Six. At this point, the bettor had $14M in his pocket, which he decided to be sufficient enough.
Gerry McIlroy Betting on His Son Rory
Rory McIlroy is a legendary Northern Irish golfer who had spent 95 weeks on the tops spot in the Official World Golf Ranking, which makes him one of the true greats of the sport. But, 15 years ago, he wasn’t all this. He was just another kid with big dreams.
Still, his father, Gerry McIlroy believed in his son. Sure, every parent thinks their child is destined for success, but Gerry decided to put his money where his mouth is by placing a 500-pound bet (about 640 USD) on his teenage son.
The wager was that Rory was going to win an Open Championship before turning 26. He did it in 2014 when he was 24 years of age, which added 200,000 pounds (nearly $350,000) to his daddy’s account.
Biggest Super Bowl Bet Ever Earns Bill Walters $3.5M
Bill Walters is a celebrity in the world of professional gambling. Many think of him as the world’s most-successful gambler alive. Now in his seventies, Bill Walters has been involved in all sorts of gambling for most of his adult life. Considering that his net worth is estimated to be around the 100 million mark, it’s fair to say he has been pretty successful.
Although Bill Walters did win sports bets a countless number of times, there is one bet that really does stand out. The bet he made in 2010 is still the record-holder when Super Bowl betting is concerned. Walters placed a wager on New Orleans Saints winning the Super Bowl XLIV. After a nerve-wracking clash with Indianapolis Colts, the Saints managed to get their hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Thanks to that, Bill Walters got his hands on his $3.5M bet win.
