Have you ever placed a bet that you thought was a winner only to find out the bet you actually placed was slightly different? If not, you haven’t been betting long enough. Don’t worry, it’ll happen to you some day too — just maybe not to this extent.
Last Wednesday, a golf bettor put $75 on Cameron Smith to win the Open at +1998 odds – which Smith did on Sunday. The only problem is the bet was actually for the 2023 U.S. Open instead of the 2022 British Open.
Wrong year. Wrong major.
You can imagine what Twitter user “AZ” felt when he opened his sportsbook app to see an unchanged balance rather than the extra $1,498.50 he thought he’d won. Agony.
Imagine watching #TheOpen all weekend and thinking you had a winner today for this to happen 😅 pic.twitter.com/8dheNHa14x
— br_betting (@br_betting) July 17, 2022
Now, this is a little different than, say, accidentally betting the over in a game that you know is going to fall under. That’s an honest slip-up; those buttons are typically right next to each other. AZ’s mistake was one of negligence on his part. The ticket clearly says US Open 2023. Even if he mixed up The Open and U.S. Open — which I can see happening for casual followers of golf — the year should have been a red flag.
And though his ticket is still active and has a chance to be a winner, he’ll be banking on a golfer who hadn’t previously won a major to get another in less than a year’s time. Smith missed the cut at this year’s U.S. Open.
All I can say is pay a little more attention y’all.