Bettor wagers 6 figures on 76ers to win $2,010
One gambler is supremely confident in the durability of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Jeff Sherman of the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook announced on Wednesday that a bettor placed a $100,500 bet on the 76ers to make the playoffs next season.
The price on the 76ers at the time was -5000. For those who aren’t inclined to sports gambling, that means that a bettor has to bet $5,000 in order to win $100.
They win how much?
The math on that adds up to a $2,010 return for said bettor if the 76ers indeed make the playoffs.
Needless to say, that’s a significant amount of risk for a relatively small return.
76ers will make the playoffs, right?
The reason the price is so high is because a healthy 76ers team is all but assured to make the playoffs in an Eastern Conference now bereft of Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James.
Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris are all All-Star caliber players. As long as they remain healthy, there’s no reasonable scenario in which the 76ers miss the playoffs. That’s not how the NBA works. Teams with healthy top-tier talent always make the playoffs.
Injury risk is real
But we can’t emphasize the word “healthy” here enough. That is where the risk lies in this bet. And the wager is dependent on a team whose best player has an injury history filled with back and knee issues.
Embiid is great. He’s also a real risk to miss a significant portion of any NBA season.
Even if he does and Harris and Simmons remain healthy, the 76ers are still a likely playoff team.
This bettor is very likely to make a tidy $2,010 profit at the end of the regular season.
But things happen. Multiple players on the same team suffer injuries. And if that most unfortunate scenario plays out next season, somebody is going to have $100,500 wrapped up in a serious sweat.
Is it worth it?
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