Wayne Shelton is a single father who just became $80,960.17 richer after an impressive $100 bet was cashed out by the bettor.
The three-leg parlay, placed at DraftKings Sportsbook, had winning legs of the Texas Rangers to win the World Series (22/1) and the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl (+600) but it all hinged on the Oklahoma City Thunder — the top seed in the Western Conference — winning the NBA Finals (70/1).
The $100 bet would’ve won slightly north of $1.7 million if he rode it out and the Thunder got some good luck en route to an NBA Finals victory.
“One hell of a ride, I got to go to a playoff game in OKC,” Shelton said in a video he posted to X on Tuesday. “And one hell of an up and down here with the cashout, it started at $11,000, got all the way up to $100,000, dropped all the way back down to $30,000 and right now we’re at $80,000.
“I said last night [Monday] that if (Thunder) win this game and they offer at least $80,000, I’m walking. Well, they’re offering $80,000 and I don’t think I can take anymore, I want to keep going but I’m a single dad and the money would be wonderful.”
The total odds of the parlay should have been 11,430/1, but thanks to a well-placed 50 percent parlay boost, the bet was instead priced at 17,145/1.
The Rangers and Chiefs did their part in winning their respective title and the Thunder grabbed the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference to grab home-court advantage, but they find themselves in a 2-2 semifinals series against the Mavericks entering Wednesday’s critical Game 5.
Rather than risk going home with $0, Shelton took a cashout with the Thunder, who were six wins away from an NBA Finals berth.
After sweeping the Pelicans in the first round, the Thunder have been in an intense back-and-forth Western Conference semifinal series with Luka Doncic-led Mavericks.
The Thunder took back home-court advantage in Game 4 with a 100-96 win after trailing by as much as 14 points.
That nail-biting game — worth tens of thousands of dollars of value to him — was the last one on Shelton’s intense parlay ride that was a bit too much to handle as he watched his cashout drop dramatically during Game 4.
Could he have gotten more after the win? Almost definitely.
Cashouts are never the best value when looking at a futures bet that you want out of.
Instead, sharp bettors look to secondary markets, like a Prop Swap or Wager Wire, to grab more money when selling bets.
Secondary market PropSwap told The Post they received multiple six-figure offers for the bet, but they were unable to contact Shelton.
The true value, according to Wager Wire, was $190,500, if they were able to find a buyer.
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Still, for a single father to collect high-five figures on just a $100 bet is undoubtedly a feel-good story.
But for future bettors in a similar spot, keep your direct messages open on social media; it could grab you some additional coin in a situation like this.