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Barista Wins Nearly $1M In World's Top Betting Contest While Watching Games From TV At Work

Gambler Goes 5-0 Against The Spread In Week 17 To Win

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One Starbucks worker might be able to take a permanent break from serving countless cups of coffee each day, thanks to the most prestigious football betting contest in the world.

According to a report from ESPN, a Las Vegas barista identified by only his first name Damon won the 2016 Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, a $1,500 buy-in that drew more than 1,800 entries this year, which was a record turnout.

The report said that Damon went 5-0 against the Westgate’s contest spread in Week 17 to finish the season with an overall record of 54-28-3 (65.8 percent).

The barista had two entries in the contest, the maximum allowed, and going into Week 16 he was tied for eighth with both entries. Both were tied for fourth going into the final week.

Remarkably, he didn’t even take off work the day he had more than $900,000 on the line. He watched the end of Sunday’s slate of games from a TV at his work.

Damon told ESPN that he’s not a serious sports bettor, so his win can be likened to an amateur player winning the WSOP main event. His success should help fuel the continued growth of Nevada’s sports betting market. Roughly $4.5 billion that was bet on sports in Nevada over 12 months prior to Nov. 30, 2016.

 
 
Tags: Sports Betting,   NFL,   Football