2025 Big Bets report: Thunder, Oilers titles stand between bettor and $100k

NBA playoff odds are getting a lot more interesting with the conference finals underway. 

It’s at this point where futures bets — and more so futures-parlay bets — really start to get the pulse racing.

That’s certainly the case for one FanDuel Sportsbook customer, who’s looking to turn a few bucks into nearly $100,000.

Read on for more on that wager, fun parlay payouts, along with other notable bets and major wagers tied to NBA playoffs betting, and an intriguing MLB win for several DraftKings Sportsbooks customers.

Built for the Futures

Many months ago, a bettor put together a six-team futures parlay at FanDuel, with what seemed to be whatever was left in that person’s account — $4.44 to be exact.

The six legs:

• Los Angeles Dodgers -1050 to win the World Series
• Joey Logano +340 to win the NASCAR Cup championship
• Ohio State +400 to win the College Football Playoff
• Philadelphia Eagles +1300 to win the Super Bowl
• Edmonton Oilers +800 to win the Stanley Cup
• Oklahoma City Thunder +600 to win the NBA Finals

The first four legs are already in. Now, it’s stomach-churning time. 

The Oilers are in the NHL’s Western Conference finals vs. the Dallas Stars, and OKC is in the NBA’s Western Conference finals vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves.

If those last two legs get there — the Thunder are favored to win it all — then the bettor pockets $94,358.88. 

Pretty insane ROI on a $4.44 bet, if you ask me.

Parlay Partay

Back on Jan. 17, a Hard Rock Bet customer decided to drop $40 on a 15-leg parlay. In other words, sports betting’s version of a lottery ticket, with odds of +45574, or almost 456/1.

It was a cornucopia that included NFL, NCAA football, NCAA women’s basketball, UFC and NBA.

The first 14 legs got there. Then on Tuesday night, the final leg delivered: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning the NBA MVP Award.

And that’s how you turn $40 into $18,269.60.

Fast Break

In Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, a FanDuel Sportsbook customer set a land-speed record, going from $100 to $3,500 in 13 seconds. 

OK, maybe not a land-speed record, but you get the gist.

The bettor put $100 on the method of first basket between Minnesota and Oklahoma City. 

The pick: Jaden McDaniels 3-pointer, at +3400.

Thirteen seconds in, McDaniels made a 27-foot jumper to give the Timberwolves a 3-0 lead. And the bettor pocketed $3,400 in profit, for a total payout of $3,500.

Triple Scoop

In the Indiana Fever’s WNBA season opener vs. the Chicago Sky, DraftKings Sportsbook had Caitlin Clark +1300 to record a triple-double. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, a huge Clark fan, couldn’t resist putting down a $25,000 wager.

And Clark delivered — just barely. The second-year superstar had 20 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. So Portnoy picked up a hefty $325,000 profit (total payout $350,000).

Baseball Bonanza

DraftKings Sportsbook has an interesting market that it calls King of the Diamond. On days that it’s offered — Fridays through the end of June, and this past Monday — bettors can win a share of $1 million in bonus bets.

How it’s done:

• From eligible games — usually night matchups — customers choose between two and five players in any type of home-run parlay.
• If one of your players hits one or more home runs, and that player’s team puts up the most runs of the day among eligible games, you win a share of the bonus bets.

Oftentimes, popular players on popular teams — the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, etc. — get the bulk of the action. So a King of the Diamond win will see that $1 million divided up among a massive number of customers.

But if you take a flier on an unexpected player from an unexpected team, and it hits, the payoff can be phenomenal.

That was the case in Monday’s Tigers-Cardinals tilt. 

Only 12 DK customers had home-run parlays that included St. Louis’ Pedro Pagés. He hit a two-run shot in the seventh inning, the only homer of the game. And the Cards won 11-4, putting up the most runs of any team in eligible games.

So those 12 customers got $83,333 in bonus bets — 16 bets of $5,000 apiece, and one bet of $3,333.

Better still: A couple of those customers turned around Tuesday and used a $5,000 bonus bet on Rhys Hoskins +400 to homer for the Brewers, against the Orioles. Hoskins led off the eighth inning with a solo shot.

And this time, the payout wasn’t in bonus bets. It was $20,000 in cash. Both bettors were incredulous on X:

I Like Big Bets And I Cannot Lie

Major wagers continue to roll in on NBA playoff odds. 

Arguably one of the more exciting bets: a $55,000 play on Indiana Pacers +4.5 vs. New York Knicks, in Wednesday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Midway through the fourth quarter, it didn’t look good for that Caesars Sports customer, with the Pacers trailing 111-94. With 2:51 remaining, Indy was still down 119-105, looking unlikely to cover as a road underdog, never mind winning the game outright.

But shockingly, the Pacers did both. 

Indiana closed the fourth quarter on a 20-6 run, forcing overtime on Tyrese Haliburton’s long 2-pointer. The Pacers went on to a 138-135 victory.

So the bettor picked up a $50,000 profit (total payout $105,000).

On that same game, BetMGM took this wager:

• $115,000 Over 220.5 points (-115). That bet easily cashed in regulation, with the customer profiting $100,000 (total payout $215,000).

As always, keep in mind that these big bets are often made by high-roller customers who can absorb such a loss. Regular Joes and Janes like you and me cannot.

And as for those parlays? Well, as they say, Parlays are a bookmaker’s best friend. So keep it reasonable. Don’t bet more than you can afford to lose.

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on X: @PatrickE_Vegas.

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