March Madness Results in Crazy Betting Schemes that Actually Pay Off…If You’re Lucky

The greatest time of the year is upon us. March Madness is here! The NCAA tournament is one of the most anticipated events of the calendar year. Pitting 64 teams against each other in an winner take all bracket is the ultimate excitement for any sports fan.

In addition to the excitement of March Madness, and the subsequent lack of productivity from anyone stuck in an office, there is the betting side of it all. Most people will try to parlay picks in the first and second round. Since it’s usually a lopsided match up, the odds aren’t that great. However, if you group a bunch of picks into one bet (i.e. a parlay), then your odds go up.

Basically, the more impossible a bet is, the more it pays out.

The Bet

During the first round of this year’s tournament, one lucky bettor in Las Vegas, Nevada decided to put $500,000 on Michigan to beat Montana. Seeing as how this was a 15-seed vs a 2-seed, the odds weren’t that great at -1,800. Online gambling sites may have had better odds, too, but this is what the MGM was offering.

So that means you would have to put up $1,800 to win $100.

Sweet, right?

Also, they old adage is something like only bet what you can afford to lose. WHO the HELL is betting $500,000 on a first round game?!

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner

Anyway, this person ended up winning their bet after Michigan successfully took down The Griz 74-55 and walked away with a crispy extra $27,777 in their pocket.

Obviously, this person is a bettor. And any bettor is usually insane. And any bettor will more than likely let their bet ride when they shouldn’t.

This person was no different. However, the outcome is something that I’m not personally used to.

They won.

They took their $27,777 in winnings, and their initial $500,000 investment, and put $527,777 on Texas Tech to beat Norther Kentucky. These odds were slightly better, but rather terrible too at -1,400.

Texas Tech won by 15 points and the bettor took home an additional $37,698.

Not a bad way to make $65,475 in a weekend. Stressful? Sure, but look at all that money they have to blow online games play online.

This bettor isn’t alone, by any stretch. It’s been estimated that $8.5 billion (with a BUH) will be wagered on this years tournament and with the favorites winning the majority of the games, the casinos are the real winners.

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