Lions' upset over Saints completes 20,000-to-1 parlay, paying $100K
- Darren RovellESPN Senior Writer
One of the biggest long shots in betting history will be cashed on Wednesday afternoon when Tayla Polia gets paid $100,005 for her $5, 15-leg NFL parlay that came through this week.
- The 26-year-old Polia, who moved to Las Vegas two months ago, got 20,000-to-1 odds on the parlay card on betting firm William Hill's mobile site. She cashed in by being on the right side of the point spread in 14 games and correctly picking the over in the Steelers-Broncos game.
The against-all-odds story gets better: Polia said this is only the second bet she has placed in her life.
"On Sunday morning, my boyfriend and I were sitting on the couch talking about how spreads worked," Polia said. "He was frustrated since I wasn't getting it right away."
An hour later, Polia, with $20 in her account, risked $5 on the parlay. Even though she was getting higher odds for picking against the spread, she said she spent time just picking who she thought was going to win the game instead.
"I remembered that I picked the Giants and they lost," Polia said. "So I thought it was strange when I looked at it [Tuesday] morning and saw that I won."
Polia then called up William Hill, and the person on the other line informed her that she was picking against the spread. The Panthers beat the Giants by three. Polia had the Giants as a five-point underdog.
Polia said, upon hearing the news, she fell to the floor of the law firm where she works in disbelief and, minutes later, said she was going out to lunch.
"I somehow drove back home to tell my boyfriend in person," Polia said. "Of course, he didn't believe me."
Aside from the Giants as five-point underdogs, Polia's card had theVikings as a five-point favorite, and they won by 21. She had the Falconsas a three-point underdog, and theTexans and Redskins as one-point underdogs; they won and covered. The Patriots and Seahawks were 14-point favorites, and they both won by 17. Her card had the Cardinals andBengals as four-point favorites, and they won by 23 and 10, respectively.
The Chargers, as a two-point favorite, beat the Dolphins by 16. The Packers won by 10 as a three-point favorite. The Chiefs, as an eight-point favorite, crushed the Ravens by 20.- The closest game she had was the Steelers, who were six-point favorites on the card, beating the Broncos by a touchdown after spotting Denver a 17-point lead. Polia also was required to pick the over or under on that game. She bet that both teams would score more than 45 points. They scored 61.
The final game of the parlay was on Monday night, where she had the Lions as a three-point underdog. They beat the Saints, 35-27.
For William Hill sports book director Nick Bogdanovich, this weekend wasn't a good one, to say the least. Not only did Polia's payout come through, but a 15-game parlay where bettors just have to pick the winners also hit. A progressive pot of $170,782 was split by 17 people.
Bogdanovich said the $5 15-team parlay card for $100,000 has hit before. William Hill paid out a couple times in Delaware, where betting on the cards is permitted.
Polia said she has loved sports her entire life -- a Celtics-logo tattoo on her hip is a testament to her love of Boston, which she left because she got sick of the winters.
Her dream, she says, is to make Vegas a pit stop on the way to owning a beach house in California.
Thanks to one of the most improbable betting stories, that might happen sooner rather than later.
