As a sports fan, there are not many better feelings than when your preseason predictions turn out to be spot on. If you can turn that accurate prediction into some money with sports betting, things get even better. With the MLB season winding down and the World Series set to begin later this week, one bettor at BetMGM has a chance to cash out in a big way.
Throughout the season in any sport, you can bet on which teams you think will meet in the championship. For even better odds, you can bet on which of those teams will come out on top. It’s a long shot bet, but it’s a market where you can throw a few bucks in and have a rooting interest for the season and a potentially lucrative payout.
In April at the start of the baseball season, one bettor at BetMGM bet $50 that the Houston Astros would defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. The bet had 2,500-to-1 odds. The payout would be $125,000.
The Astros were always considered one of the favorites to win the AL Pennant and the World Series. In April, Houston was 10-to-1 to win the World Series. Those odds were third best behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. The Astros had the second best odds to win the AL Pennant at +475, behind only Toronto.
The long-shot aspect of the bet comes from Philadelphia. The Phillies opened at 13-to-1 to win the NL Pennant. Those odds were 8th best in the NL behind the Dodgers, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants.
The Phillies wouldn’t have even made the playoffs last year, but with the new playoff system making its debut this season, their 87 wins were enough to earn the sixth and final playoff seed in the National League. They finished a game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers for the final spot. Philadelphia went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card round and then beat the 101-win Atlanta Braves in the NLDS. In the NLCS, they took care of the San Diego Padres in five games.
The Phillies did well to even make the playoffs after their start. On June 3rd, Philadelphia was seven games under .500 and fired manager Joe Girardi. Rob Thomson took over and won 65-46 to finish the season. There were a lot of times this season where the Phillies part of this bet didn’t look good. However, they got hot at the right time and it’s baseball. Here they are.
Astros favored to win the World Series
While the bettor must be feeling pretty good about their 2,500-to-1 point, the job isn’t done yet. In order to cash the bet, they still need the Astros to take care of business in the World Series. Oddsmakers like their chances.
Currently at BetMGM, the Houston Astros are -185 favorites to win the World Series. The Phillies are a +150 underdog.
However, Philadelphia has been the betting underdog in all three series they’ve won to this point. The underdog role is nothing new to them. There’s an uncanny resemblance to the Philadelphia Eagles of 2018, who won four playoff games as an underdog to win the Super Bowl.
The Astros are just the third team not to lose a playoff game en route to the World Series. The 2007 Colorado Rockies and the 2014 Kansas City Royals are the only other two teams to accomplish this. Both teams lost in the World Series.
Of course, when you combine the 2,500-to-1 odds the bettor captured and the fact that they are now a significant favorite to win their bet, the bettor has a chance to hedge their bet if they so choose. They’re currently risking just $50 to win $125,000.
If the bettor can get their hands on $50,000 in the coming week, they can bet that amount on Philadelphia to win the World Series. That way, no matter what happens, they are profiting $75,000. Of course, most people don’t have easy access to that kind of money. Maybe they’re confident in the Astros and they’ll just let it ride. Either way, they’re in a good spot to win a significant chunk of change off a $50 investment.