Last Updated on 30 March 2022
An Aussie punter will probably take it slow when it comes to betting in the next couple of weeks.
As the LA Lakers were getting ready to face the Denver Nuggets in the third game of the Western Conference Final, news of a massive bet on the Lakers to win was starting to emerge.
$228,000 Bet on the Lakers
The Lakers were the favourites to win the game, and most punters were backing them to do just that. However, one Aussie betting enthusiast believed in the Lakers more than his peers and backed them with a colossal $228,000 bet.
If you watched that game, you probably know why the punter may now want to take a hiatus from wagering.
The punter placed his large bet on the Lakers at $1.38. This meant that if the Lakers did indeed win, and his bet turned out to be successful, he would have won a profit of close to $87,000.
That may not seem like much for a stake of that size, but the Lakers were clear favourites to win against the Nuggets, and the punter probably felt pretty content with the winnings he was going to get.
Things Don’t Go According to Plan
However, when the game started, it immediately became apparent that the Lakers were not at their best. They were trailing by 10 points after two quarters and were finding it hard to keep up with the Nuggets.
Jamal Murray was particularly devastating to the Lakers’ hopes of winning. He notched 28 points and 12 assists and was the main reason why the Nuggets were in the front right from the start.
Cashing Out at Half-Time
The Aussie punter probably saw that LeBron, Davies, and Co had a bad day at the office, and decided to cash out as early as half-time.
The Lakers were down 10 points after two quarters being played, and the punter took the $97,624 in cash out funds that the betting company TAB had offered.
Backing the Nuggets to Win at -9.5
For most punters, cashing out would have been the end of their wagering adventure on the game. However, this Aussie betting aficionado was quite persistent and wasn’t willing to give up that easily.
Instead of taking the money and walking away, he put the entire cash-out amount on the Nuggets to win at -9.5. This meant that he was now siding with the Nuggets to triumph by at least a 10-point difference.
For a large period of the remainder of the game, it looked like that would indeed be the case. The Nuggets were leading by 20 points by the end of the third quarter, and the punter probably felt quite happy to have decided to back them and not the Lakers on his second attempt.
A Cruel Twist
However, this was not the end of the story for the unlucky Aussie bloke. As faith would have it, the Lakers pushed the pedal to the metal in the fourth quarter and started reducing that 20-point lead. It was almost like they knew about the bet, and held a grudge against the punter.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they only managed to bring down the deficit to -10 with 10 seconds to go. By then there was no longer any time for a turnaround, and it became apparent that the Nuggets will get a much-needed victory in the Western Conference Final playoffs.
The only question in the punter’s mind now was whether the Nuggets will succeed in keeping that winning margin at 10 points or more.
With 10 seconds to go, the Nuggets still had the ball but had to give it away because of a shot clock violation. There were now only 5.4 seconds to go, and everybody expected the Lakers to take the ball and just wind down the clock.
Unfortunately for the punter, the substitute Alex Caruso took it upon himself to reduce that margin and prove to the coach that he warranted a place in the starting five.
He took the ball, drove towards the basket, and scored a sweet layup. The Nuggets won 114-106, and the punter probably shook his head in disbelief at what he had just witnessed.
To say that TAB’s people were quite happy with the outcome of those two bets the punter made, would be an understatement.
TAB’s Trent Langskaill tried to sound sympathetic towards the punter, though, and said afterwards: “A really tough day for the punter in question.” However, we are pretty sure that TAB’s people won’t cry themselves to sleep over this one.
