Detroit resident and Las Vegas casino owner Derek Stevens is potentially going to earn $1 million should his alma mater Michigan Wolverines win the national title. Derek Stevens plopped down $12,500 on Michigan before the NCAA Tournament commenced, which looks like he's set to win the whole thing - and even by Sin City standards, he's now four wins away from a massive payday.
He posted his Ticket on his Twitter feed:
According to the ticket, if Michigan emerges victorious in the national championship, Stevens is standing to win an awesome $1 million!
Stevens, who owns the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino as well as The D Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, which are both located in downtown Vegas, placed his wager at the Golden Nugget. CEO of Golden Nugget Tilman Fertitta seems calm and collected, sending a tweet at Stevens on Sunday afternoon, "Should be fun my friend!"
Stevens made the headlines prior to the NCAA Tournament when he placed an $11,000 bet on each of the 32 first-round games, against the spread. He amazingly won on both his bets on his home-state teams, picking Michigan and Michigan State to win their openers.
This is actually not the first time Stevens had bet huge money on a Michigan team to win all the way. Two years ago, he dropped $20,000 on the Spartans to win the NCAA championship, when Tony Miller, the Golden Nugget sportsbook director, accepted the bet on rival Michigan State at 50-1 odds on December 5. Stevens and Miller are known as good friends and Stevens is a regular at the sports book.
After a devastating start, Stevens lost a sum of $109,000 after going 10-19-3 on his bets from Tuesday through Friday. On Friday, he was down $124,000 and 3-14-2. His total wager was at $352,000 as he bet on all 32 games of the first round of the March Madness tournament.
Sources: https://news.worldcasinodirectory.com/vegas-casino-owner-to-pocket-1-million-if-michigan-wins-ncaa-tournament-43808
https://twitter.com/DerekJStevens/status/843568028528795648
