The run VCU has been able to make to the Final Four in Houston has become — as expected — a complete sideshow. The university recently shelled out $2,000 to let Dick Vitale know he was wrong and students and fans alike have been partying in the streets since the Sweet 16. Only two out of 5.9 million ESPN brackets picked the final four correctly, and VCU is a huge reason why. Whether you believe the Rams deserve to be playing for a championship or not, their run in the 2011 NCAA Tournament has been one of the most remarkable in history.
According to the USA Today, via Deadspin, one brave soul strolled into the Las Vegas Hilton earlier this season and decided to risk $10 of his or her hard-earned money on a whim. That whim was that the VCU Rams would win the National Championship in 2011. The odds? 5,000 to 1. Therefore if VCU cuts down the nets next week in Houston, that person stands to win $50,000.
Other sportsbooks in Vegas said they took “significant” futures action on VCU at 175-1 and Butler at 150-1 before the tournament began. There are still two games remaining before any serious cash would need to be shelled out, but book managers are admittedly nervous about the potential of having to pay some huge winners.
Granted, there were probably a ton of lost bets with people betting on the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to win specific games and the National Championship, but I’m sure the Vegas sportsbooks would much rather pay those who bet on UConn and Kentucky to win it all than they would those who went out on a limb for VCU and Butler.
