Philadelphia 76ers Backer Puts Down Six Digits to Win Four Figures

Posted on: August 2, 2019, 05:00h. 

Last updated on: August 2, 2019, 02:32h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

A well-heeled sports bettor laid $100,500 at the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook earlier this week on the Philadelphia 76ers to make the 2020 NBA Playoffs at odds of -5000. The gambler will net a modest $2,010 on that investment if the Sixers do, as many expect, make the postseason.

Sixers star Joel Embiid. At least one bettor hopes the center is healthy this year. (Image: SI.com)

For those new to sports wagering, -5000 implies a high chance of the predicted outcome and a bettor would need to put down $5,000 just to win $100.

Data indicates odds are actually increasing that Philly will be in the postseason. On Tuesday, Caesars Sportsbook had the team at -4000 to make the playoffs, with only the Milwaukee Bucks at -5000 having a higher postseason probability.

76ers to make the playoffs yes -5000 … just took 100,500 to win 2,010,” said SuperBook Vice President of Risk Management Jeff Sherman on Twitter.

Expectations are high for the Sixers entering the 2019-20 NBA season, indicating value on relevant futures bets on the team may be hard to come by at the moment. The team is -111 to win the Atlantic Division and +400 to win the Eastern Conference. The only Eastern team with shorter odds of winning its division and the conference is Milwaukee, at -455 and +225, respectively.

Risk/Reward

Smart sports bettors, regardless of the amounts they lay, know that assessing risk and reward is integral to long-term success in the endeavor. In the case of the Sixers backer, the risk is $100,500 and the potential reward is $2,010.

But there’s more to it. Because the gambler made a futures wager, his capital – the $100,500 – is now property of the SuperBook until the 2020 NBA playoffs start. That doesn’t happen until next April, meaning the bettor’s money is tied up for nine months.

There are a slew of potentially more rewarding and less risky ways of earning 2 percent on one’s money over nine months that do not require being without the capital for that time. The ICE US Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index, a basket of US Treasuries with maturities of 20 years and more, is considered by many to be one of least risky investments in the world, and would likely pay 2 percent over the next nine months.

The long-term average monthly return for the S&P 500 is 0.92 percent, and that would compound if dividends are reinvested and the capital is not withdrawn.

Did It Again

Apparently the bettor backing the Philadelphia 76ers likes wagers that look like sure things. A day after that wager was made, the same gambler laid $10,000 at the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook on the Milwaukee Bucks to make the playoffs for a payout of a paltry $100.

As is the case with the Sixers wager, the cash used for the Bucks bet will be tied up for nine months, but in this instance to make a mere one percent.

According to the odds released by Caesars Tuesday, six other NBA teams have odds of -1000 or higher to make the postseason in addition Milwaukee and Philadelphia.

Bets such as those laid by the aforementioned gambler this week at Westgate Las Vegas Superbook are not uncommon. Last year, at the same sportsbook, a bettor plunked down $67,000 before the NBA season on the Golden State Warriors to be in the postseason at -10000 for winnings of $670.