Action Network reporter Darren Rovell documented how he placed futures wager upon wager on his beloved Northwestern Wildcats to win the Big Ten championship in 2020.
He came into Saturday’s game against Ohio State with a chance to win $238,000 or nothing if the Wildcats lost.
Rovell said he was not going to hedge his bets. However, with Northwestern in front 10-6 in a tight game in the second half, he accepted an offer from PointsBetUSA for $67,831.
I have accepted my offer of $67,831 from @PointsBetUSA.
I believe in the Wildcats and still think they will win this game.https://t.co/Kimitp4BW8
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 19, 2020
Here is how he wound up in position for the score:
I stared at that 200-1. Not wanting to alarm the guys at PointsBet, where I made the bet, I made it incrementally.
- $150 at 200-1
- $100 at 200-1
- $200 at 200-1
- $200 at 200-1
- $300 at 200-1I had gotten down $950 easily, an amount I was comfortable losing should it go wrong.I added more.
$100.
Damn, it dropped to 150-1. I bet the $100 and stopped.
Shortly after Northwestern went to 2-0 on the year, I checked back. PointsBet was offering 66-1.
I liked it more and got down $500.
- In Week 5, I started counting up what I had done. Northwestern was 5-0 and had beaten Iowa and Wisconsin. They could lose out and still be in the Big Ten title game.I had bet $1,550 to win $238,000.
Taking the offer seemed like a good thing when Ohio State took a 13-10 lead with 2:41 left in the third quarter. Would that lead last?