Big Bets Report: NFL Draft Bettors Win 43 Cents, $50k After Mendoza Goes No. 1

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Potentially high-paying tickets continue to surface in betting on the NBA and NHL playoffs. That includes a modest $25 parlay that only needs the Flyers to win one more game for an $18,000 payday. Plus, a major wager on the Hawks to win the Eastern Conference is starting to get just a bit more interesting. Read on for more on those bets and other notable wagers tied to NBA playoff odds and Stanley Cup playoff odds. But in the interest of timeliness, we’ll first note some interesting plays that paid out on NFL Draft odds Thursday night. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports. Flier on Fernando Prior to the 2025-26 college football season, DraftKings Sportsbook had Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza as a +5000 long shot to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. A perfect season, capped by a national championship, ultimately made Mendoza a runaway favorite to be No. 1 overall. By mid-January, he was -10000 or more, meaning it would take a $100 bet to win just one dollar. But a bettor with some serious foresight did far better than that. The customer put $1,000 on Mendoza at +5000, then began a long wait. Finally, when the Raiders made the top pick official Thursday night, that customer bagged $50,000 profit. On the flip side, a couple of bettors decided to have some fun with the No. 1 overall pick at Mendoza’s huge favorite price. At BetMGM, a customer put $100 on Mendoza -10000 and won a clean, crisp one-dollar bill, for a total payout of $101. Fanatics Sportsbook had Mendoza an even larger favorite, at a massive -100000, meaning a $100 bet would win just 10 cents. A customer decided that wasn’t quite enough and instead bet $430. Net profit: 43 cents, for a total payout of $430.43. LSU’s Mansoor Delane proved more profitable for a couple bettors. DraftKings took a $20,000 wager on Delane -330 to be the first cornerback drafted. The Chiefs moved up from No. 9 to No. 6 Thursday night in a trade with the Browns, then chose Delane. The bettor profited $6,060 (total payout $26,060). At Fanatics, a pair of much more modest bets paid out nicely. The customer had two bets totaling $75 on Mansoor +3000 to be drafted No. 6 overall, with oddsmakers expecting Mansoor to go later in the top 10. But the Chiefs’ trade foiled oddsmakers’ expectations, and the bettor’s 75 bucks netted $2,250 profit. That’s my kind of ROI. Philly Flying When the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs began, the Flyers were relatively modest underdogs to win their series against the Penguins. But Philly stole Games 1 and 2 on the road, flipping the script to become a -425 series favorite. Then the Flyers rolled to a 5-2 victory at home to go up 3-0 in the best-of-7 series, becoming -2000 favorites in the process. That’s got a Fanatics customer on the brink of a big payout. Last week, the bettor put $25 on a wide-ranging six-leg parlay, including the PGA Tour event winner, a pair of MLB games and a pair of NBA games, and capped it with the Flyers winning their first-round series. Philly could close out Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Even if not, the bettor has three more chances after that. As long as the Fliers get one more win, that $25 — at odds of +72280, or about 723/1 — becomes $18,085. Will The Hawks Rock? The Hawks are the No. 6 seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoffs. That means there are a few hurdles to clear if Atlanta is to win the conference title and reach the NBA Finals. It’s unlikely. However, behind Jalen Johnson and C.J. McCollum, the Hawks have a 2-1 series lead over the No. 3 seed Knicks, with Game 4 at home Saturday. If Atlanta takes down New York, that’ll give a Caesars Sports high-roller a little more hope on this wager: $15,000 on the Hawks +2000 to win the East. If McCollum & Co. can keep the upset train rolling through the Eastern Conference finals, then the bettor profits a hefty $300,000 (total payout $315,000). It’s worth keeping an eye on. Bet a Lot to Win a Little In Sunday’s Game 1 between the 76ers and Celtics, Boston raced out to a 64-46 lead. That led to an in-game moneyline price of -5000 on the Celtics, meaning it would take a $5,000 bet to win $100. A Fanatics big bettor then decided to do something to cure his Sunday boredom, plunking down $100,000 on Celtics moneyline -5000. It would’ve been an insane amount to lose if Boston fell apart in the second half. But the Celtics ultimately cruised to a 123-91 victory. And the bettor safely secured a $2,000 profit on his $100K wager (total payout $102,000). I’d advise pretty much all of you to be much more cautious with your dough. Keep your bet amounts and expectations reasonable.