Those silly prop bets are fun to read and get lots of play on sports radio, but nobody really bets legitimate money on them right?
Wrong.
When Tom Brady was penalized for intentional grounding in the first quarter of Sunday's Super Bowl, the referees called a safety to give the Giants a 2-0 lead.
The call also gave one man a huge payday.
Jona Rechnitz put up $1,000 to win a staggering $50,000 on the 50-1 long shot bet that the game's first score would be a safety, according to friend Benjamin Lyons' Twitter account. Lyons was with his buddy at the MGM Grand sports book when he made the wager that had everyone on Twitter buzzing.
See the betting slip below for yourself.
The $50,000 pot is almost double the average annual wage for American workers last year, which was $26,364.
Considering a game-opening safety had only happened a single time in Super Bowl history, it seemed putting the cash in front of a lighted match would have been a better use of Rechnitz's time.
It happened in 1975, when the Minnesota Vikings fumbled a handoff in the second quarter at their own 10-yard line and Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive end L.C. Greenwood mistakenly booted it toward the goal line. Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton jumped on the pigskin and was tackled by Pittsburgh defender Dwight White in the end zone for the first score of Super Bowl IX. That took place at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.
Don't feel too bad for the casinos, though. Vegas is expecting a moderate-sized win overall on the Super Bowl, according to gambling expert R.J. Bell of the Pregame.com. That would make 20-of-22 winning years for Nevada sports books. The official numbers will be out later this week.
So what did Rechnitz do to reward his friends for his lucky $50,000 wager? He purchased all 10 of his buddies shoes, according to another friend who tweeted a photo of the bag.
They probably didn't come from Payless.
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