First of all, we’ll just ignore the fact that you’d have to be insane to bet on the Pirates in March. But this guy did, and got some pretty sweet odds for them to win their division — 1,000-1. Well who’s laughing now? At 5 1/2 games back in the NL Central, Pittsburgh could conceivably win it, which would mean Pittsburgh native Brandon Crusan would make $50,000.
On Opening Day, Crusan, a lifelong Pirates fan, placed a $50 bet at +100,000 (1000/1) on the Bucs to win the division. That’s a potential $50,000 payday.
“Overall, I felt that we were in the worst division in baseball; so why not throw 50 on my Buccos?” Crusan, a sales manager in Mt. Washington, Pa., wrote in an email. “I mean we have to turn it around sometime right?”
Poker pro Mike McNeil also got pretty good odds on April 4, when he attempted to bet $100 on Pittsburgh to win the division at +1,000 (100-1). But he had bank transfer issues, so a friend offered to book a similar bet himself. McNeil bet $1,000 at 80-1.
“He likes to play the bank if he thinks he has an edge and agreed to book my action, one grand at 80-1,” said McNeil.
The gambler who took McNeil’s bet asked to remain anonymous, but did confirm to Covers.com via email that the bet was good. He is a regular player at the high-stakes poker games in Vegas.
“We made small ($50-200) wagers on lots of stuff this summer from MLB games to video games to the song game,” said Gambler X. “Many times, if I owed Mike $200 for example, I’d needle him by saying “you owe me 800 now [on the Pirates].’”
“We gamble on a lot of things,” added McNeil, “but nothing quite like this,”
There are a few Vegas bookmakers sweating the Pirates as well, including Caesars line consultant Todd Furhman, who took some $25 wagers at 150/1 on Pittsburgh to win the World Series.
Now that’s crazy.
But remember Jerry Meals’ blown call that cost the Pirates the game in the 19th inning against Milwaukee recently? What if Pittsburgh ends up losing the division by one game?
“It felt like it a punch in the stomach,” said McNeil, who watched all 19 innings in a New York City bar. “My buddy has agreed to work something out if the Pirates end up losing the division by that one game.”
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$50 bet could net Pirates fan $50,000 [Covers]
