Here’s yet another example of why sports betting is so risky.
One bettor almost lost more than $350,000 when betting on Argentina to beat Iran in Saturday’s World Cup match. Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, was so favored that seemed like a safe bet.
However, this man went all in with an insane bet. If Argentina ended up drawing or losing, the man was out of a huge chunk of cash.
From ESPN’s Darren Rovell:
A bettor walked into the Tuscany Casino in Las Vegas on Thursday and bet $231,676 in cash for Argentina to beat Iran straight up. It was the largest World Cup wager made at the 100 William Hill sportsbooks in the state of Nevada, confirmed company spokesman Michael Grodsky.
Argentina was such a prohibitive favorite that if the team won, he would only win $20,000 (and of course get his original bet money on top of that). Draw or lose, he would lose that money.
So confident that Argentina would win, the bettor dropped another $120,000 on the same bet on Friday to win another $10,000 if Argentina prevailed.
The man had to be biting his nails non-stop during extra time. Luckily for him, Messi scored just seconds before it expired as the man won $30,000.