The Maloof brothers are the bettors behind the $880,000 wager placed on Floyd Mayweather Jr. for his fight with Conor McGregor on Aug. 26, the brothers revealed.
The photo from a printed $880,000 betting slip circulated on social media a few days ago, leaving behind many questions about its legitimacy and who had placed the bet. The slip also had an incorrect payout figure that was due to a computer glitch.
The brothers (Joe, Gavin and Phil), who formerly owned the Sacramento Kings and Palms hotel in Las Vegas, put $880,000 down on Mayweather at the South Point sports book, as LV Sports Biz first reported. They stand to profit $160,000 if they win and say they will donate the proceeds to charity.
@LVSportsBiz EXCLUSIVE: Maloofs place $880,000 bet on @FloydMayweather to beat @TheNotoriousMMA https://t.co/hYo35UbxiL @darrenrovell @ESPN pic.twitter.com/jSMxO0fxSv
— LVSportsBiz.com (@LVSportsBiz) August 13, 2017
Gavin told the Review-Journal why they felt comfortable placing the wager.
“I live down the street from Floyd and I’ve known him for a lot of years. He’s a good friend of mine,” Gavin Maloof told the Review-Journal. “Conor McGregor’s great and all the respect in the world to Dana White and the UFC. But it’s very difficult to transplant an MMA fighter to boxing.”
Many sports books are pleased to have money come in on Mayweather. There were so many McGregor fans who flooded the books that the odds went down, leaving the books hoping for a Mayweather win to avoid losing.
