Sportsbooks Breathe Sigh of Relief as Butler Heads to NCAA Championship: VCU Out
The Vegas sportsbook Directors called it a “bomb waiting to explode”. Had VCU beaten Butler and ended up somehow winning the 2011 NCAA Championship, the books would have taken quite a hit.
VCU ultimately lost in its semi-final game against Butler 70-62 but not before winning the Southwest Region and paying out 150/1 odds for some lucky gamblers.
The Hilton had offered Virginia Commonwealth University at 5000/1 odds of winning the 2011 NCAA Championship. Someone bet those odds at the Las Vegas Hilton for a measly $10. The payout would have been $50,000!!!
Hilton Sportsbook Director Jay Kornegay sweated it out perhaps more than the coaches and players themselves.
"They (VCU) probably would have been much higher like 400- or 500-1, if they weren't associated with the field" Kornegay said. "But because they were playing in the play-in game, we put them in the field. I mean we had them at 200-1 to win the region."
The Bulldogs still promise a pretty massive payout having opened with long odds to win the Championship.
For Butler, this will be their second consecutive year making a Finals appearance. They lost to Duke 61-59 last year.
- Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com
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