UMBC became the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed with their shocking 20-point victory on Friday night in the NCAA Tournament.
Despite a 16 never beating a 1, and despite Virginia being a massive favorite (and the tournament’s top overall seed), someone actually placed an $800 bet at The Venetian on UMBC winning straight up.
In this bet, UMBC was +2000 on the moneyline (or, 20-to-1), which honestly feels a little low when you again consider that a 16 has literally never beaten a 1. Still, this lucky person turned their $800 into $16,800:
https://twitter.com/jsimbal/status/974859154861965312
And the William Hill sportsbooks say they had six $100 moneyline bets on UMBC.
The betting on this game certainly didn’t go as well for most folks.
Now, if you have money to throw around like that, you’re probably doing okay for yourself anyway.
UPDATE: Here’s another lucky bettor.