It was a stroke of luck 15 times over.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported this past week that an unidentified gambler went to Parx Sportsbook in Philly and placed a $25 bet on a 15-game parlay and hit every single game, earning him or her $57,146.40.
Parx Senior Vice President of Interactive Gaming and Sports Matthew Cullen told the Inquirer the casino had no hard feeling about such a big payout.
“It’s not bittersweet at all paying that out. This is the business that we are in. Some bets we win and some bets our customers win. It’s the nature of our business.”
Fifteen up and 15 down: Analyzing the $57K bet
The mystery bettor’s ticket included 15 different games across three different sports: NCAA basketball, the NBA, and the NHL.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the games upon which he or she bet, along with the type of bet:
NCAA
The mystery winner picked two NCAA games: One from the big tournament and one from the NIT. The Fairleigh Dickinson game was a bit of a nail-biter, as they were down 13 with 18:37 left in the second half.
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- Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Prairie View A&M (moneyline). Farleigh Dickinson rallied to win after being down double digits in this March Madness play-in.
- Creighton vs. Loyola Chicago (-3): An NIT matchup, the Bluejays won by 9.
NHL
The parlay included one game that ended up being a blowout.
- Washington vs. New Jersey (moneyline): The Caps downed the Devils 4-1.
NBA
This is where the Pennsylvania sports bettor needed the lion’s share of the luck, as he or she bet on the moneyline and over/under for each game except for the Brooklyn game:
- Philadelphia vs. Charlotte (over)
- Milwaukee vs. LA Lakers (under)
- Golden State vs. Minnesota (under)
- LA Clippers vs. Indiana (over)
- Houston vs. Atlanta (under)
- Brooklyn vs. Sacramento (Nets and +3.5, over)
Perhaps the most shocking outcome amid these games was the Nets’ win. Their matchup against the Kings included a 20-0 run by the Kings. The Nets needed a 44-point effort from resurgent D’Angelo Russell (27 came in the fourth quarter) to preserve the win for the Nets.
Parx among eight sportsbooks in PA
PA sports betting is a relatively new phenomenon, as it took more than a year after the state’s gambling expansion bill to open a land-based sportsbook.
However, since the first sportsbook opened at Hollywood Casino at Penn National in November 2017, seven more have followed:
- Parx
- South Philadelphia Turf Club
- Rivers Sportsbook
- SugarHouse Sportsbook
- Harrah’s Philadelphia
- Valley Forge Turf Club
- FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge Casino