Barstool founder Dave Portnoy I once had to file for bankruptcy. For gambling losses.
Now, he appears to be the most popular gambler in America.
Portnoy claims he has won $5.4 million in sports betting in 2024 and stands to win another $1.6 million if the Celtics win the NBA Finals.
Portnoy bet $100,000 on a two-leg parlay on Scottie Scheffler winning the Masters (+550) and the Celtics winning the NBA Finals (+145). It will pay him $1,592,500..
Boston will dominate a weakened Eastern Conference and face the fourth-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals as a DraftKings favorite with -225 odds to win.
“Guys, I hate to say this, but I’m betting $1.1 million on the Celtics and another $1 million on the Oilers.” Portnoy said on X:.
Portnoy’s original post on his Celtics bet stated he was making a profit of approximately $1.5 million, so it’s possible he hedged some of his profit on the Celtics by betting on the Mavericks series.
“If both teams win, they’ll make $7.5 million in 2024 and have won every major event this year. This should go in the history books,” Portnoy continued.
The media mogul is in a great position with both tickets, which could add about $2.5 million to his portfolio on top of his previous wins.
Portnoy’s previous big winnings came from helping Michigan and Washington win the CFP semifinals, the Chiefs win the Super Bowl, Connecticut win the national title ($2.2 million) and Scheffler win the Masters ($1.35 million).
DraftKings, the company he bets exclusively with and which he has partnered with Barstool Sports, is the payer of those wagers.
DraftKings will likely continue to promote the wild bets and parlays, but it’s fair to say that even the sportsbook didn’t expect this level of excitement just a few months after signing the content deal.
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Questions have been raised in the past about why Portnoy was allowed to place bets on Penn’s app, formerly known as Barstool Sportsbook and now renamed ESPN BET.
Many people believe that Portnoy’s large-scale actions skew market share figures misrepresented the company’s actual betting figures;
For now, Portnoy is making a killing on sports betting, lining DraftKings’ pockets.
