5 Biggest Bets Ever Won in History of Betting
2 minutes
Last Updated: August 1, 2022
It’s no big secret that millions of people around the globe are betting on sports on the regular. The global sports wagering revenue surpassed the $130 billion mark, and the numbers are unlikely to stop growing any time soon.
The opportunity to win a life-changing amount is one of the reasons we like to bet.
However, while most of us go about daydreaming about winning millions, there have been a few skillful and lucky players who achieved such a feat.
Billy Walters — $3.5 million
In 2010, Billy Walters bet on the Super Bowl XLIV between Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints.
Despite being the underdogs, Walters bet on the New Orleans Saint that went on to win the game 31-17.
While it is unknown exactly how much Walters bet, he did end up winning around $3.5 million, which is the largest-ever bet won.
Vegas Dave — $2.5 million
Dave Oncea, also known as Vegas Dave, is a familiar face in sportsbooks and casinos, having won several massive payouts.
However, his other wins don’t even come close to Oncea’s biggest payout in 2015, when he won $2.5 million after placing a $140,000 bet.
Vegas Dave bet on the 30/1 odds for Kansas City Royals to win the World Series. While the bet wasn’t that big, no single casino was willing to take on that sort of liability, so Oncea had to place the bet at multiple casinos.
Steve Whiteley — $1.9 million
Steve Whiteley got on a bus and traveled to a horse track. Once there, he used his free ticket to get in, placed a £2 bet, and went home £1.5 million richer, which is nearly $2 million.
Against all odds, Steve Whitley picked six winning horses and won the Tote Jackpot. To make his win even more impressive, Lupita, the last horse Steven needed to win, lost 28 of its previous 28 races.
Fred Craggs — $1.3 million
Just like Whiteley, Fred Craggs made a small fortune betting on horse races. The 60-year-old salesman from Yorkshire placed a 50-pence bet on an eight-fold accumulator.
Despite the odds of 2,000,000/1, all eight horses won their races.
If he had picked the no-limit bet, Craggs could have even earned an additional $500,000, but something tells us he wasn’t all too upset with the outcome.
The best part about Craggs winning $1.3 million is that he didn’t even know he had won the bet until he went to his local William Hill sportsbook and tried to place another bet as usual.
James Adducci — $1.2 million
James Adducci made history after placing a risky $85,000 bet. Namely, Adducci bet on Tiger Woods to win the Masters Tournament in 2019.
Even though Tiger Woods is widely regarded as one of the best golfers of all time, he didn’t win a major championship in 11 years prior to 2019.
However, Adducci stuck with his gut feeling and walked away $1.2 million richer.
The Bottom Line
One thing that makes betting exciting is that you never know when you will strike gold.
While some of the players on our list decided to stick to their guns and were convinced they would win, others were oblivious that their lives were about to change completely.
Of course, as more and more people continue to bet, chances are someone is bound to dethrone one of the players on our list.
