Arizona resident Wayne Shelton has gotten notoriety over the past month for a bet that he placed last year, which entailed him being one-leg away from winning a $1.7 million dollar parlay. All he needed was the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA Finals.
Shelton submitted a $100 three-team championship parlay, including one team from each of the major sports to win their respective championship, which were the Texas Rangers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Oklahoma City Thunder. As the Rangers won the World Series, and the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, the big payout was revolving around the Thunder. To note, the odds for winning this bet were +1143000.
For those who aren't familiar with sports betting, sports books offer a 'cash out' option, which enables the bettor an opportunity to end the active bet before the outcome is decided. That way, one can collect part of the winnings from the payout of their parlay, without walking away with nothing. With this in mind, as the bet gets closer and closer to being over, odds change in or against your favor.
In particular, in Shelton's case, since the Thunder were in the second round of the playoffs, every game mattered for him.
To put in perspective, after OKC won Game 1, his cash out offer was $100,000, but then after losing Game 2 and Game 3 to the Dallas Mavericks, his offer went as low as $30,000.
So then after sweating out Monday night's Game 4, 100-96, victory, Shelton was offered $80,900, and he took it and ran with it.
In the video, he documented himself cashing out the winnings, "They're offering 80 and I don't think I can take any more. I want to keep going, but I'm a single dad. The money would be wonderful."
🚨 THE $1.7 MILLION THUNDER BETTOR HAS CASHED OUT 🚨
(w/ @Ascended85 @DKSportsbook) pic.twitter.com/0lXGadLF4L
— br_betting (@br_betting) May 14, 2024
No one blames the guy, as he said it was a "helluva ride" and he turned $100 into over $80 grand, instead of losing it all, which is a smart move, especially taking into consideration that he has a family to feed.
After rooting for the first-seeded Thunder all playoffs long, the only way Shelton is going to feel bad is if OKC keeps on winning. It's safe to say, if the Thunder do go on to win the championship, he might have a little regret.
As of now the Thunder are tied for the third-best odds to win the title at +800 (Celtics -134, Nuggets +370, Timberwolves +800).
Related: Tim Donaghy Believes Shohei Ohtani Was Involved In His Translator's Sports Betting Scandal
