2023 Not Half Bad – So Far – For Betting, Drama
As we cruise into the second half of 2023, it is an excellent time to reflect on the year’s first six months and highlight a few notable sports betting stories. There is no shortage of topics to cover, from big bets on the Super Bowl, high-profile bettors to underdogs winning titles, to runaway favorites in futures betting.
Nuggets Earn 1st NBA Title as +1600 Underdogs
Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets entered the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat as massive NBA betting favorites to win their first title in franchise history. It took a long time, but sportsbooks finally caught on to how good the Nuggets were after listing them as underdogs in several key games.
“I think in the Finals, there are no favorites.”
Nikola Jokic in response to Denver being considered favorites against Miami pic.twitter.com/haFeq4CQYF
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 31, 2023
The two-time NBA MVP Jokic helped the Nuggets win the NBA Finals and helped cash some massive tickets for loyal Denver bettors.
If you had wagered on the Nuggets around this time last year, you’d be looking at NBA odds right around +1600. Those are the longest odds of any NBA Champion since the Toronto Raptors won in 2019 at +1850. The only teams with longer odds were the 2015 Golden State Warriors (+2800) and the 2011 Dallas Mavericks (+2000).
Had the Boston Celtics won in 2022, they would have crushed the record with preseason NBA lines of +4000 to win the Finals.
Drake Bets $1 Million on the Super Bowl
All NFL betting fans aim to win big every season when the Super Bowl rolls around. But it’s not just us average Joes who risk their hard-earned money at the sportsbook. Mega-rich people love to wager too.
One wealthy individual well-known for making massive sports bets is rapper Drake. We usually see him courtside at Toronto Raptors games, but Drake is also a big fan of NFL odds.
Routinely known for wagering six-figure sums on sports, Drake upped his game for Super Bowl LVII with nearly $1 million in bets.
The biggest chunk of Drake’s action was a $700,000 bet on the Kansas City Chiefs NFL moneyline to beat the Philadelphia Eagles at +110. Drake won that bet and won $770,000 as a result.
The rest of Drake’s bets were spread out among several prop bets, including $60k on a tight end winning the MVP (+900), $50k on Mahomes scoring the 1st TD of the game (+1400), and the Chiefs winning every quarter (+2000).
Luckily for him, Drake didn’t parlay his prop bets because most of them failed to cash. Overall it was a big day for Drake as he ended up winning his biggest bet on KC to take home the hardware.
Can Ohtani Cash Tickets as MVP and Cy Young Winner?
With what Shohei Ohtani is doing for the Los Angeles Angels, we are witnessing one of the greatest seasons by an MLB player in the league’s history. I’ve talked a lot about the Unicorn recently, but his production has been so good that it warrants further praise.
I covered Ohtani’s incredible success at the plate and on the mound here and here, but to sum up, he had one of the best months in MLB history in June. He hit 15 home runs and 29 RBIs last month, leading the league in both categories. He also posted a 3.26 ERA in 30⅓ innings on the mound, including 22 strikeouts in his previous two starts.
The sound off of Shohei Ohtani’s bat is unmatched. 🤯
(MLB X @googlecloud) pic.twitter.com/0MHBTNcLUc
— MLB (@MLB) July 3, 2023
With MLB odds of -1800, Ohtani is heavily favored to win the AL MVP in 2023. The closest competitor is Corey Seager, with odds of +3300. Barring any major injury or historic slump, Ohtani will walk away with the MVP this season and may even break Aaron Judge’s recent home run record.
But Ohtani is also the fourth favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award at +700. Framber Valdez, at +200, leads the MLB lines, while Kevin Gausman (+400) and Gerrit Cole (+375) are also in the mix.
Betting on Ohtani to win both on a parlay is very tempting and would be one heck of a nice win to tell the grandkids about.
