2025 March Madness Big Bets report: $20k off $5 parlay could balloon if Duke wins

Published April 01, 2025

March Madness odds are obviously huge for the games themselves. We saw that over the first four rounds of the tournament, with sportsbooks nationwide reporting heavy activity across 60 games.

But many bettors also tried to predict the future, wagering on March Madness championship odds. And some of those bettors went the full Nostradamus and put in their predictions almost a year ago.

Such is the case with a Hard Rock Bet customer, who’s on the brink of turning five bucks into a massive six-figure payday.

Read on for more on that play and other notable NCAA Tournament bets.

Put Up Your Duke

On May 12, 2024, before the Tennessee baseball team won the College World Series, a prescient bettor put together this five-team futures parlay at Hard Rock Bet:

Tennessee +650 to win the CWS
Los Angeles Dodgers +300 to win the World Series
Ohio State +450 to win the College Football Playoff
Philadelphia Eagles +1600 to win the Super Bowl
Duke +1100 to win March Madness

Add that all up, and you’ve got massive odds of +3365900 — or, in somewhat more digestible terms, 33,659/1. The first four legs are already in. The bettor has been waiting around for that last leg since Feb. 9, when the Eagles thumped the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl 59.

And Duke now happens to be the favorite to win the national title, currently around even money.

The Blue Devils are in the Final Four, along with the rest of the No. 1 seeds: Florida, Houston and Auburn. If Duke is the last team standing on Monday night in San Antonio, then the bettor will profit a whopping $168,300.

But the customer has already locked in a significant profit on his $5 investment. On Saturday, before Duke met Alabama in the Elite Eight, he sold a 50% stake in his bet, via PropSwap, which is a secondary-market service.

Think StubHub, but for sports bets.

That stake sold for $20,250 Saturday afternoon, and Duke went on to rout Alabama 85-65 to reach the Final Four.

As long as Duke lifts the trophy, the bettor and his new shareholder will split the proceeds. Regardless, the bettor already has 20 grand in hand.

That’s spectacular ROI, no matter what happens from here.

Terrific Ticket

How would you like to be sitting on a three-leg parlay to collect nearly $50,000, needing only a Duke championship to close out that bet?

Back during football season, a FanDuel Sportsbook customer was prescient enough to string together this $85 parlay:

Ohio State +300 to win the College Football Playoff
Philadelphia Eagles +1000 to win the Super Bowl
Duke +1200 to win March Madness

Add those three up, and you’ve got odds of +57100, or in more digestible terms, 571/1.

Ohio State took care of the first leg, beating Notre Dame 34-23 on Jan. 20 to win the CFP. Three weeks later, on Feb. 9, the Eagles rolled over the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in the Super Bowl.

Now, with the NCAA Tournament heading to the Final Four, all that remains is Duke finishing off a title run. And as good fortune would have it, the Blue Devils remain the favorite in FanDuel’s odds to win the NCAA Tournament, now at even money (+100).

If Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils cut down the nets in San Antonio, then that $85 parlay turns a profit of $48,535.

100 Grand Here, 100 Grand There on Gators

No. 1 seed Florida continued its quest for a national title. But just barely. In the Elite Eight on Saturday, the Gators trailed No. 3 seed Texas Tech 75-66 with just 3:14 remaining.

However, four consecutive 3-pointers jump-started a game-ending 18-4 run, and Florida won 84-79.

Florida is on a 10-game win streak as part of a 16-1 overall run. And for what it’s worth — and it’s definitely worth something — the Gators are 13-4 against the spread in those games.

At BetMGM, the Gators are now the +275 second choice to win the national title, behind only even-money favorite Duke. But earlier this month, a BetMGM customer got notably better odds on Florida, putting $100,000 on the Gators +900.

If Florida’s 10-game win streak becomes a 12-game win streak, then that bettor will pocket a massive profit of $900,000, for a total payout of $1 million.

At Caesars Sports, during the second round of the tournament, another $100,000 bet landed on Florida, at +340. So that ticket stands to profit $340,000 (total payout $440,000), if the Gators go the distance.

Hail Caesars

Caesars Sports also has a couple of customers looking to cash out big on March Madness futures bets.

Way back on June 27, a customer put $10,000 on Houston +2200. Now, Caesars has Houston as the +425 third choice. If the Cougars cut down the nets on Monday night, then the customer profits a healthy $220,000 (total payout $230,000).

A side note on Houston: Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale is an avid fan of all Houston-based sports teams. So he might drop a million or more on the Cougars, as well, though he says he hasn’t done so yet. Stay tuned.

Also at Caesars, a customer put $30,000 on Auburn +350, to win $105,000 (total payout $135,000).

Built For The Futures

Along with those aforementioned hefty potential payouts, there are countless more straight bets on championship futures in March Madness odds. DraftKings Sportsbook is sitting on a couple of tickets that pay out well into five figures:

$4,000 Florida +1500, to win $60,000 (total payout $64,000)
$6,000 Auburn +600, to win $36,000 (total payout $42,000)

At DraftKings, Auburn is now the +500 underdog in March Madness championship odds. Florida is the +300 second choice, and Houston is third at +400. Duke is the +105 favorite.

Hard Rock Bet took a few notable futures bets earlier in the season, at long odds. But only one of those wagers survived the first two weekends of March Madness — a $250 play on Florida +6100.

As noted above, the Gators are behind only favored Duke in national championship odds. If this bet hits, then the customer profits $15,250 (total payout $15,500).

Parlay Par-tay

Finally, one bettor is in great position to cash a bunch of bets for a mountain of money. The customer is holding five futures parlay tickets, and all five tickets clinch with a Duke national title.

Those five wagers were made at FanDuel Sportsbook and Fanatics Sportsbook. Total investment: $1,433. Potential profit: $162,000.

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.

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