It’s Super Bowl season, which means society’s ballas are about to be out in full force — here we go.
Super Bowl LVII between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs is just days away, and we now have our first official million-dollar bet on the big game, according to ESPN’s David Purdum.
The bettor, whose name is currently unknown, reportedly put down $1 million on Philly to win straight-up at -125 odds, doing so through BetMGM. If the Eagles win, the gamble will pay out $800,000.
First reported seven-figure bet on Super Bowl this year: $1 million on the Eagles money-line at -125 reported by @BetMGM.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) February 4, 2023
As someone who is in love with the sports betting culture and has covered it professionally, it’s cool as hell to see big bets like this on sexy events, especially the Super Bowl. But I’m not enjoying it as much as I should be.
See, I live in Florida, and once upon a time, online sports gambling was legal here — but it didn’t last long at all. I don’t have the time to get into it completely (you can check out the story here), but a federal judge shot down the deal in 2021, just months after both Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe of Florida agreed to allow it.
And now we’re stuck without an official online sportsbook in Florida. Yeah, we can bet with shady offshore bullshit, but the chances of you getting your money taken or not getting paid out is extremely high, so screw that.
I want to bet so badly that I’m out here on Twitter begging Hard Rock Sportsbook (who were the only sportsbook in Florida when online sports betting was made legal) to come back.
Come back to Florida. @HardRockSB
— Andrew Powell (@AndrewPowellDC) February 4, 2023
They’re keeping their fingers crossed:
🤞
— Hard Rock Sportsbook (@HardRockSB) February 5, 2023
So yeah, it’s cool and all to see these flashy bets — I love it — but it’s stinging me a little bit as a Floridian that I can’t place any bets of my own online … and no, I don’t have time to go to an actual casino. I need an app! (RELATED: It Is Looking Pretty Clear At This Point Who Aaron Rodgers Will Play For Next Season)
I have to do the worst thing imaginable here, and that’s to just wait it out — stink.