Sometimes, a little patience pays off. That was definitely the case for one high roller who invested in NFL Week 4 odds. Before Sunday’s Chiefs vs.
Raiders game, Kansas City was -235 on the moneyline to just win the game, regardless of final margin. But halfway through the first quarter, K.C. trailed 7-0, and the moneyline moved into -120. That’s when a Caesars Sports customer decided to drop seven figures on the Chiefs.
More on that major wager, a $5 parlay that cashed out for high four figures and a mistake that worked out well for Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated.
Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports. The Chiefs got all they could handle from the Raiders on Sunday. Las Vegas set the tone early, taking a 7-0 lead on Kirk Cousins’ 27-yard touchdown pass to Ian Thomas.
That made Kansas City's in-game moneyline much more attractive than the pregame price. So the Caesars customer put a whopping $1.2 million on Chiefs' moneyline -120. The lead changed hands multiple times the rest of the way, but K.C. got two Kenneth Walker III touchdowns in just 19 seconds — the second coming after a Raiders fumble — to take a 30-19 lead late in the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, that was just enough cushion to narrowly hang on for a 30-27 victory. So the big bettor banked a $1 million win, for a total payout of $2.2 million. That same wager on the pregame price of -235 would’ve netted less than half that, at $425,532.
Not that all of us wouldn’t be happy with such a windfall. At Hard Rock Bet, a customer put a much more relatable $5 on a four-leg Anytime Touchdown Scorer parlay: Nabbing four players at those prices adds up to a parlay with hefty odds of +153856. Or in easier-to-digest terms, almost 1539/1.
The only real sweat was Gainwell, and it’s not like it went down to the wire. Rather, on the second play of the fourth quarter vs. the Packers, he caught a 10-yard TD pass. Cooper scored against the Rams in the second quarter, and Gordon and Horton found paydirt in the third quarter, vs. the Vikings and Chargers, respectively.
That turned five bucks in $7,697.81. Not a bad Sunday’s work. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy thought he’d put in a $10,000 five-leg moneyline parlay on Sunday’s NFL games.
Meaning he’d need all five teams to win. So when the Raiders lost to the Chiefs 30-27, Portnoy thought his ticket was dead. But it wasn’t.
Because he’d actually bet those five teams against the spread. So Las Vegas covering the number actually kept the ticket alive. The Rams and Bears both covered as favorites.
Los Angeles did it in comeback fashion vs. the Eagles and the underdog Jaguars and Panthers won outright against the Bengals and Lions, respectively. At odds of +2533 — just beyond 25/1 — the ticket profited $253,361.41 (total payout $263,361.41). That’s the kind of mistake we’d all like to make.
Something to always keep in mind when adding legs to your bets: Parlays are a bookmaker’s best friend. Each leg makes it much less likely that you’ll win. All it takes is one outcome to foul it up.
A Fanatics Sportsbook customer came quite close to turning a hundred bucks into nearly $64,000, on a six-leg parlay. Five of those were tied to touchdown scorers and the sixth to soccer star Lamine Yamal scoring for Spain against the Czech Republic. The first five picks got there, leaving only Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs to score two or more touchdowns Sunday night.
Gibbs scored late in the second quarter vs. the Panthers, tying the game at 13. But he didn’t find the end zone again in Detroit’s 32-26 loss. So close.
But close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades — not parlays. On a more successful parlay note, a FanDuel Sports customer played the role of Nostradamus in Thursday night’s Steelers vs. Browns matchup.
The bettor put $25 on a five-leg wager tied to Pittsburgh’s first drive. On the game’s opening drive, Cleveland went three-and-out and the Steelers started out on their 22-yard line. By the time the 78-yard drive was complete (almost 10 minutes later), Jaylen Warren had 21 yards rushing, Aaron Rodgers had 53 passing yards, Warren and Darnell Washington each had a reception and Pittsburgh scored a touchdown.
At odds of +5076 (about 51/1), the $25 bet turned into $1,294.07. All before the first quarter even ended. A Kalshi Sports trader put $191,295 on the underdog Browns beating the Steelers.
The trade was at a price of 42%, which correlates to about +138 in betting odds. Cleveland pulled the modest home upset, winning 27-24 on Andre Szmyt’s 56-yard field goal in the waning seconds. So the trader profited $264,170 (total payout $455,465).
Also at Kalshi, a trader put $174,000 on the 49ers beating the Broncos. San Fran won 24-14, netting $126,000 profit (total payout $300,000). Another Kalshi trader put $106,000 on the home ‘dog Bucs beating the Packers.
That didn’t work out in a 17-14 loss, so that’s six figures in the loss column. Interestingly, each week, there are several risk-a-lot-to-win-a-little trades. A whopping example: $276,323 on LSU beating overmatched McNeese State on Saturday.
No surprise, the Tigers rolled 63-14. And the Kalshi trader netted all of $2,870 profit (total payout $279,193). At FanDuel Sports, the Raiders’ Thomas was +10000 (100/1) to score the first touchdown vs. the Chiefs.
As noted above, midway through the first quarter, Thomas put Las Vegas up 7-0 on a 27-yard TD catch. A tenner on that would’ve netted $1,000 profit. If you got frisky and put a C-note on it, then you’d have profited a hefty $10,000.
Similarly at FanDuel, Eagles wideout Darius Cooper was 100/1 to score two or more touchdowns. Cooper found the end zone twice in the second quarter, and one bettor actually had 10 bucks on that prop, winning $1,000. In the Thursday night game, Caesars Sports had Steelers wideout Roman Wilson at +2000 to score the first TD.
Late in the first quarter, Wilson delivered on a 12-yard catch. A $10 bet would’ve netted $200. It’s not a four-figure payout, but it’s certainly a nice bankroll boost.
At DraftKings Sports, Browns running back Jaleel McLaughlin was +3000 in the Anytime TD market. McLaughlin broke through in the second quarter vs. the Steelers. Ten dollars on that prop would’ve netted $300.
The biggest bet to come in on either NFL Week 4 odds or college football Week 5 odds was the aforementioned $1.2 million play on the Chiefs. But there were a boatload of other major wagers. Station Sports, which operates several sportsbooks in Las Vegas, took a couple big pops involving the Lions.
And those were big losers. One customer put $500,000 on Lions' moneyline -245. That left a significant bruise after Detroit lost to Carolina 32-26.
Station also had a $200,000 moneyline parlay of Chiefs -220/Lions -200. Kansas City narrowly saved one leg, but Detroit couldn’t finish the job, another painful parlay lesson. Other notable NFL wagers: And on the college front: Keep in mind that these whale customers have the disposable income to make such bets and to absorb those big losses.
We average Joes and Janes can’t do that. Keep your bet size and expectations reasonable. Never bet more than you can afford to lose.
