The early August call would seem strange to some, but not to Max, 37, a teacher. It was from his younger brother Willie, a pharmacist by day and a Vegas gambler at night.
“He told me that [the bookmakers] in West Virginia had a number of management changeovers and their lines weren’t as sharp.”
So Max got in black F-150 and drove the five hours to West Virginia to the Hollywood Casino at the Charles Town Races from Washington D.C.
Max’s orders from his brother were to mix and match the following combinations: Lakers to win the NBA title, Braves to win the NL East, Chiefs to win the Super Bowl, Lightning to win the Stanley Cup, Alabama to win it all and the Seattle Storm to win the WNBA title.
“When I was paying for the tickets, it seemed to cost more money that he told me it would,” Max said.
It’s because he wanted more two- and three-teamers and Max put four teams on his tickets.
“When I called him and told him I had spent $1,800, he said he didn’t know if he wanted to split it with me because he thought four-team parlays might not have a chance.”
By morning, Willie had changed his mind. He felt it was OK to split.
It was a good decision.
On Thursday afternoon, the brothers cashed out on one of their tickets by selling it on PropSwap. They sold a ticket that cashed on three legs — Storm, Braves and Lightning — with only the Chiefs to go, for $57,000, 33% of the total payout of $171,360.
“I wanted to let it ride,” Max said. “But my brother is the boss and he doesn’t like the Chiefs this year.”
PropSwap founder Luke Pergande said it was the largest ticket they had sold this year.
It could have been an even bigger ticket, according to the brothers. Max said he couldn’t put the Lakers on any tickets because the book had taken the NBA futures off the board as play had just started.