It only took two weeks of gambling on the gridiron for one lucky player in William Hill’s Pro Football Progressive Parlay contest to turn $5 into nearly $85,000.
The winner – who wishes to remain anonymous at this time – picked all 15 games on the Week 2 slate correctly in straight up betting.
The Pro Football Progressive Parlay card from William Hill U.S. offers NFL fans the opportunity to parlay $5 into a progressive jackpot starting at a $10,000 seed. Players must pick every game on the NFL’s Sunday and Monday schedule correctly – straight up rather than against the point spread – with any tied games removed from the equation.
The progressive jackpot amount swells after each week without a winner and typically hits several times per season. In 2016, a multisport version of the game involving college and pro picks paid out more than $305,000 to set the contest’s current record high.
The 2016 NFL season also produced a jackpot payout of $85,095, when a lucky winner went 15 for 15 on the strength of fourth quarter comebacks from the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins,
William Hill Oddsmaker Offers Winner Props on Perfect Picks
Week 2 action in the NFL was defined by improbable upsets, as underdogs went a whopping 11-4 against the spread (ATS).
In terms of straight up betting, seven of the 15 games on Sunday and Monday saw underdogs wind up on top – with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, and Indianapolis Colts all winning outright as ATS dogs.
This fact wasn’t lost on William Hill sports book director Nick Bogdanovich, who told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the jackpot wasn’t nearly commensurate to the degree of difficulty:
“On a week where I thought it was impossible to hit. I tip my hat to that guy.
He probably should’ve won $860,000. It was a hard week. A lot of dogs.”
The Twitter account maintained by William Hill U.S. made sure to clarify that the high five-figure jackpot still offered massive payout odds of just under 17,000 to 1:
“Congrats to the one winner of our Nevada Pro Football Progressive Jackpot of $84,565! That’s a very nice payout of 16,913 for 1.”
Winner Beats the Odds in More Ways Than One
Bettors who back the chalk were hammered in Week 2 following several unlikely upsets.
The Colts traveled to take on the Washington Redskins as (+6) underdogs, but Andrew Luck and Co. wound up riding a stifling defense to a 21-9 victory.
The Chiefs were also road dogs, getting (+4.5) at the Pittsburgh Steelers while quarterback sensation Patrick Mahomes lit up the “Steel Curtain” for six touchdown passes in a 42-37 shootout win.
The Dolphins did the deed as road dogs getting (+3) at the New York Jets, when the defense snared two interceptions to key a 20-12 upset.
And while the spread of (+1) in the Jaguars favor doesn’t do the pick justice, the jackpot winner had moxie to take them at home over the vaunted New England Patriots. The Jags cruised to a 31-20 win, however, adding to the winner’s count of seven correct upsets.
The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings tied 29-29 after a frustrating overtime filled with missed field goals, but that game was deemed a winner for all players.
Check out the jackpot winner’s winning 15 for 15 slate below:
NFL Week 2 Perfect Parlay Contest Picks
RAMS over CARDINALS (34-0)
SAINTS over BROWNS (21-18)
COLTS over REDSKINS (21-9)
FALCONS over PANTHERS (31-24)
BRONCOS over RAIDERS (20-19)
49ers over LIONS (30-27)
CHIEFS over STEELERS (42-37)
COWBOYS over GIANTS (20-13)
DOLPHINS over JETS (20-12)
BEARS over SEAHAWKS (24-17)
TITANS over TEXANS (20-17)
JAGS over PATRIOTS (31-20)
BUCCANEERS over EAGLES (27-21)
CHARGERS over BILLS (31-20)
