Are gamblers taking low-risk, huge-reward bets and coming close to winning them more often these days, or are we just hearing more about it? I’m sure it is the latter, but that doesn’t make them any less enjoyable to read about. Before we begin, let us note that for every @Pistol_Pete82 or rabid Cardinals fan who could win huge money through extremely unusual circumstances, there are millions of knuckleheads who might as well rip up their money and flush it down the toilet. That’s why the house always wins and will always win.
All that being said, according to the gambling website Beyond the Bets, a man named Pete took a 1,000-to-1 prop bet before the season began that the Colts — with Peyton Manning’s future in question — would go 0-16 on the year. Pete placed only $10 on the bet and is five losses away from making $10,000. Here is a picture from his iPhone that was posted on his Twitter page as proof.
LBS reached out to Pete on Twitter for a comment, asking him how he felt about his chances of winning the bet. He told us he feels “good but not great about it.” He expressed concerns over the Colts possibly beating Houston or Tennessee at home, and said that he’s hoping the Jaguars will play hard for their new coach when the teams meet in Week 17.
“My rationale was simple: Peyton has made a ton of money in his career already, why chance it if this thing is serious?” Pete told Beyond the Bets. “We’re not talking about some ligament damage in a knee, we are talking about his spine and neck. There is no way a multi-million dollar enterprise like Peyton, Inc., is going to take any chances or rush a neck injury.”
He also said that he placed the bet a few days before the Colts announced Manning’s second surgery and declared him doubtful for Week 1, so clearly it was not yet a given that Peyton would miss the entire season. But again, like this improbable VCU bet we’re only talking about 10 bucks. You make these bets not expecting to win but if you do … well, you know.
Chest bump to USA Today’s Game On! for passing the story along.
