LAS VEGAS — Exactly how, in the wide, wide world of sports wagering, did Tadej Pogacar steer his ultra-high-tech Colnago Y1Rs racing bike into my neighborhood?
First, I thank Tommy Lorenzo, the Southern California handicapper who, late last year, presented to me the art of parlaying different sports futures.
He highlighted Miami FC winning the MLS Cup to the Dodgers winning the World Series, a ticket he cashed.
Caesars, which operates the William Hill shop at M Resort, is the rare Nevada sportsbook that allows such arcane business.
That lets me mostly dodge the grind of day-to-day games, which is much more agreeable to my constitution.
Hence, as I explored the sports landscape for future-parlay considerations, I found
Pogacar, who has won four of the last six Tour de France races and is the -330 favorite this year.
Pogacar is the superstar of UAE Team Emirates XRG. The race begins in Barcelona on July 4 and ends in Paris on July 26.
I have one ticket with Michigan, at a -320 moneyline, beating UConn for the college hoops title, which happened, with Oklahoma City (+140) defending its NBA crown to Aryna Sabalenka (+250) winning the French Open.
I added Pogacar (-330), creating a 13-to-1 beauty.
No Alcaraz, no problem
An unintended consequence of parlaying futures arrived April 24, when Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the French Open with a wrist injury. I have several tickets with
Alcaraz winning in Paris.
I also concocted a few that have Jannik Sinner, the lithe Italian, winning the French, for insurance.
However, with Alcaraz’s departure, his spots on those tickets were voided. Three-way parlays became two-way, the five-ways became four-way, etc. Instantly, I had three winners to cash.
Wolverines moneyline (-305) to defeat UConn in the NCAA hoops finale with Junior Caminero to smack a homer (+305) against the Cubs on April 5 became a two-way parlay, without Alcaraz (+120) to win the French.
That 11-1 ticket got reduced to +483. For this minnow, though, the cashing of any ticket is reason to rejoice.
The second became Man City (+175) to defeat Liverpool on Feb. 8, the same date I had the Seahawks on the moneyline (-230) to beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Minus Alcaraz, that paid +295 (instead of +847).
The third involved those Seahawks to Hideki Matsuyama (-500) to win Group A on the first day of the WM Phoenix Open, which he did.
That ducat returned 72% of my initial investment; not a “big hit,” but that isn’t the point. I’m not out to hit the lottery, as regular readers know.
Besides, what other legal investment produces such a succulent 11-week return?
The day I cashed them, Lorenzo told me that cashing three future parlay tickets on the same day qualifies as an exceptional windfall. That reassurance felt good, as the Alcaraz-Sinner positions became win-wins.
Hopefully, tickets on both return dividends. For me, simply cashing a ticket is the point. I have several others, with the Alcaraz void, that I hope to take to the window.
Mitigating favorite prices
I had fun with many of these tickets, often combining odds-on favorites to turn heavy prices into enviable returns.
For the summer’s World Cup, I have Spain beating England, with France, Portugal and Germany likely affecting late knockout rounds.
At the M, I grabbed Europe to win it all at -400, or risk $400 to win $100. To offset that price, I added Sabalenka (+250 to win the French) and Pogacar (-300) to fashion a +483 ticket.
Moreover, I constructed many two- and three-way group-winner parlays, with the usual Euro suspects claiming the top spots in Canada, the US and Mexico.
I’ve got Kimi Antonelli (+155) to win the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, tied to Pogacar and the Thunder, making a +440 parlay ticket.
I had Karl-Anthony Towns to record at least five assists (he collected seven) against Philly on May 8, at -190, Sabalenka in the French and Pogacar, a +613 return.
On Jan. 30, I bought the Seahawks -230 to win the Super Bowl, Bayer Leverkusen +105 to defeat Eintracht Frankfurt on Jan. 31 and the Dodgers +230 to win the World Series.
Those first two came in, so if the Dodgers win their third consecutive championship that +871 ticket will cash.
And a ticket I bought Jan. 10 involved the Hoosiers winning the football title (-320), the Thunder (+120) winning the NBA crown and the Nationals to finish with fewer than 69½ victories, at -110, with a +451 return.
That’s entertainment
I goofed around a bit, too, because this is about entertainment.
These might have looked better two weeks ago, but I have both the Yankees over Cubs, and Cubs over Bronx Bombers, in the World Series, both at 45-1.
I added to my Chicagoland Portfolio.
Should the Cubs and Bears strike oil, I’ve got a 390-1 ticket on both winning titles, and 151-1 on both reaching their championship games, or series; plus, +535 on both winning their divisions.
Ultimately, my summer’s balance sheet could be determined by Pogacar, who, at 27, is just entering his prime.
Pogi, who has been compared to cycling legend Eddy Merckx, excels on descents.
It will be all downhill for me, too, if he claims his fifth Tour de France on July 26.