First Things First co-host Nick Wright attended David Benavidez’s knockout win over Gilberto Ramirez in Las Vegas last Saturday, and by the end of his trip in Sin City, he had placed a massive bet with a potential profit of $2 million. It all started when Wright, who is a big-time poker player and hosts No Gamble, No Future for PokerGO, won some extra gambling money playing cards on Friday night.
“I was in Vegas to go to a fight with Nick Schulman, who happens to be literally the world’s best poker player,” Wright explained, via the NY Post. “He also happens to be the sharpest boxing guy in the world. We had sick seats for the Benavidez fight. We’re in a gambling chat with (poker player) Taylor von Kriegenbergh, also known as “TV K” and another person. On Friday night, I get to Vegas. I play cards until late. I win. I have a little extra money in my pocket.”
Wright saw some more flops on Saturday morning before making his way to the BetMGM sportsbook to place some wagers on the boxing match and the Kentucky Derby, where some NBA championship odds grabbed his attention.
“They’re already in round two, and I’m like, ‘That’s just wrong, that can’t be right,'” Wright said of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ odds. “I check the betting odds, and all of the sports betting apps have between 150 to 200/1. That’s wrong. The Lakers are 28/1, have to play (the Thunder), they don’t have their best player. I saw five years ago Giannis (Antetokounmpo) suffer the same injury during Game 4 of the (Eastern) Conference finals. He started Game 1 of the Finals eight days later. I think Ant Edwards will play at some point this series.”
After rolling everything over in his head, Wright texted his gambling pals.
“I text Nick and Taylor, ‘Hey, I’m going to make this bet. A big bet. Do you guys want a piece?’ They can’t believe it either; they’re going back and forth,” he said.
“We want to see if they will take $10k to win $2 million. Everyone is skeptical that they will take that much. Whatever, we will start big and work backward from there.”
Wright doesn’t think he’s been flagged as a sharp bettor by Vegas casinos, but nevertheless, management had to come over and approve the wager due to the massive payout he’d earn with a win. Interestingly enough, Edwards was cleared ahead of Game 1 of Minnesota’s Western Conference semifinals series against the San Antonio Spurs and helped the Wolves pull off a stunning upset in the series opener.
The Wolves are down 2-1 in the series following their loss on Friday night, but if they can fight their way into the Eastern Conference finals, Wright will be that much closer to his $2 million.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.