Delaware player hits the parlay for $100G

HOW HARD IS IT to pick a 15-team parlay on NFL games against the spread? Well, the actual odds against hitting it are 32,000-1. The odds used for the Delaware parlay bet are 20,000-1. In actuality, it took nearly 74,000 losing bets before somebody hit it.

One player, who made his bet at Delaware Park before the Week 5 games, bet $5 on the 15-team parlay proposition. He got all 13 games correct last week. He had the Eagles and Ravens yesterday. Both won and covered. That $5 bet will become $100,000 when the bettor cashes his ticket.

The bet was introduced during the 2009 season. One player had 14 straight winners that year. And lost the last game. Last year, another player had the first 14. And lost the last game.

Since the bet was introduced, $370,000 had been wagered on it with no return. Before Week 5, $12,100 was wagered on the parlay. So, the Delaware Lottery actually lost $87,900 on the Week 5 bet. Still, the lottery is $270,000 in the black overall from the 15-team parlay wager.

The Eagles beat the Redskins and covered early in the day. The Ravens were minus-4 over the Texans on the card in the late game. Baltimore led just 16-14 entering the fourth quarter, but won going away 29-14, easily covering the spread.

The Texans played without ace pass rusher Mario Williams and top wideout Andre Johnson. The spread actually went up to 8 1/2 at one point before settling at 7.

So, the player could have hedged his bet by using the Texans plus the points in a single bet. Then, he would have won something no matter the result or even won both sides if the spread fell in the middle of his two bets.

As it turned out, not hedging would have been the best course of action. If he did not hedge and just went with the parlay, he showed a profit of $99,995, a rather nice return on a $5 investment.