No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson University shocked the world when it beat no. 1 seed Purdue last week in March Madness. It was just the second time in tournament history that a No. 16 seed beat a top seed.
One gambler seemed to see the upset coming and made nearly half a million dollars on FDU’s upset.
The bettor placed a hefty $33,000 wager on FDU to make a historic upset, and it made him a $495,000 net profit ($528,000 total). The bet slip, which was placed at DraftKings DKNG, -4.67% online sportsbook, was verified as authentic, according to the Action Network.
The odds for FDU to win against Purdue were +1500, which carry an implied probability of 6.25% — meaning FDU had a 6.25% chance of winning.
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Sports-betting operators like DraftKings and FanDuel are not shy about highlighting betting tickets like this, because these long-shot bets give hope to people who envision themselves as capable of hitting on big underdog bets.
Unsurprisingly, there were at least a few bettors who posted screenshots or photos of their bets on FDU over the weekend. One bettor posted an FDU wager of $1,000 that led to $45,000 in winnings.
This person bet that FDU would be ahead at the end of the first half, and eventually win the game, with the odds of the wager being +4500, which carry an implied probability of 2.17%. Interestingly, this bettor made the wager with a “bonus bet” which means they wagered and won with a promotional bonus from DraftKings and didn’t have to risk any of their own money.
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Several bettors who wagered smaller amounts also posted about wagers they claim to be on FDU after the University’s win.
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Americans plan to wager roughly $15.5 billion on the March Madness tournament this year, up from $3.1 billion in 2022, according to estimates from the American Gaming Association, when accounting for legal wagers at regulated sportsbooks, bracket contests and casual bets with friends.
There is a 1 in 9.2 quintillion chance of a perfect March Madness bracket, so not surprisingly, there are no perfect brackets remaining for the 2023 tournament.
After losing its next game in the round of 32 to the Florida Atlantic Owls, FDU Coach Tobin Anderson said his team will never forget their Cinderella moment.
“Everybody chanting ‘F-D-U.’ The place going crazy. The police escorts. Leaving the hotel with the band playing,” Anderson said. “Every part of this I’ll remember forever — and they will, too.”
