Jerry Davich
As soon as the Detroit Lions went up 24-7 over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game two weeks ago, a cash-out offer popped up on my FanDuel sportsbook app for $372.09.
Not bad for my $20 parlay bet, picking the Lions to beat the 49ers and three other wagers: the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Baltimore Ravens, and Travis Kelce and Jahmyr Gibbs to score touchdowns.
All I needed was the Lions to continue their dominance over the 49ers and squeak out a win for me to win $524.73. At halftime, I excitedly sent texts to two of my friends, asking if I should take the cash-out or let my bet ride. The difference was about $150, which would make up for my losing betting season on the NFL and college football this past season.
One friend told me to let it ride. The other friend told me to take the “cash guarantee.”
It was a no-brainer decision for the casual fan, magically turning $20 into $372 in just a few riveting, action-packed hours. What did I do? I let it ride. My decision was based purely on greed, not on my love of the Lions or my doubts about the 49ers.
As you know, the 49ers came back to win on what was described as an “epic failure” by the Lions. I didn’t win a dime. I was crushed. And ashamed of myself.
“That’s why it’s called gambling,” a friend told me.
I’ve had a gambling spirit since my teenage years, when I wagered bets on football games, illegally, with a local bookie in my hometown of Gary, Indiana.
Jerry Davich bets on the Bears with former player Brian Urlacher. The Packers won.
When my state legalized sports betting in 2019, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. That day in early September felt like a high holy day as I sped to the closest casino in Michigan City. There, I stood in line behind none other than Chicago Bears legend Brian Urlacher to place a bet at the casino’s new FanDuel sportsbook section.
I interviewed him for a newspaper column about his playing days and his sports betting interest. We both bet on the Bears to beat the Green Bay Packers. We both lost. I’ve been losing bets ever since. Hundreds of them actually. I wager mostly small bets, $5 and $10, hoping that my parlays win enough to keep me even. It didn’t happen this past season. One word explains it all: Greed.
This is how countless sports books and online apps have become a multibillion-dollar enterprise every year with 175 million U.S. adults able to access a legal, regulated betting option. Nearly 40 states now allow sports betting in some form, led by FanDuel, DraftKings and now ESPN Bet. It’s almost impossible to not see their online ads, TV commercials and “free bet” offers, which turn out to be anything but free. Trust me, I’ve tried them all.
Giving free bets to stupid and greedy gamblers like me is like giving free vaping devices to gullible teenagers. Big Gambling is brilliantly -- and diabolically -- following the marketing genius of Big Tobacco, using greed instead of nicotine to hook its customers.
To be clear, I’m not a year-round gambler. I don’t bet on cards, dice, roulette or slot machines. I’m a sports gambler, with an affection (or infliction) for only football. My betting season ends on Super Bowl Sunday, which is not only the high holy day of the NFL season, and a national holiday of sorts in our country. It will be the pinnacle of the sports betting season, with Americans projected to bet $1.3 billion on this game alone, a jump of almost 20% from last year, according to Legal Sports Report.
Roughly 70 million viewers are expected to place wagers on Sunday’s big game, with the point spread hovering around 2.5 points against the 49ers. But it’s the “prop bets” that allow casual gamblers to wager money on all sorts of things beyond the game’s final score.
Will Taylor Swift attend to watch her gladiator hero, Travis Kelce? Will the first score be a touchdown or field goal or safety? Will total penalties be over or under 10.5? Will Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes rush for more than 25 yards? Will Christian McCaffrey score two TDs?
I was given a $25 free bet by FanDuel, which I used to place a long-shot parlay wager to win $11,898. Will it hit? Of course not. But hey, if I win, I would not only break even for the season, but I’d be set up to place more stupid, losing bets for years to come.
Why did I place it? The same reason I didn’t cash out that bet on the Lions -- greed.
