- Circa Sports owner Derek Stevens is holding separate futures tickets on the Miami Marlins to win the National League championship and World Series.
- Each ticket could pay out $1 million if the Marlins are successful.
- Stevens’ newest property–Circa Resort & Casino–will have a partial opening on October 28.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 has been a big year for Circa Sports/D Las Vegas owner Derek Stevens. His newest Las Vegas property–the Circa Resort & Casino–remained on schedule throughout the pandemic forced shutdown of the Nevada gaming industry. The Circa is now scheduled to have a partial opening of the first five floors on October 28. His sports betting business continued to enjoy success in the Nevada market and expanded outside the state for the first time as they launched a mobile betting app in Colorado.
Stevens was well known as a sports betting enthusiast long before the launch of Circa Sports and this could make his 2020 even more profitable. Stevens is holding outstanding futures tickets on the Miami Marlins to win the National League pennant and the World Series. The Marlins have reached the NL Divisional Series after an upset win over the Chicago Cubs in the wild card round.
The bets were made in July at the Westgate Sportsbook for $5,000 on the Marlins to win the NL at 200 to 1 odds and $2,500 to win the World Series at 400 to 1 odds. Each wager would pay $1 million if successful. Stevens also placed two losing bets totaling $6,000 on the Detroit Tigers that would have paid $1 million each.
Westgate Sportsbook vice president Jay Kornegay recalled Stevens’ wagers to the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
“Derek and I talked about it and we know he’s a big Tigers fan. He took a shot with the Marlins because he knew they were an up-and-coming young team with solid young pitchers.”
Stevens had a hopeful comment at the time he made the bets:
“Game 7 of the World Series is Oct. 28 and that’s the day Circa opens. I can maybe cash something out over here, and help pay for the new joint.”
Kornegay posted a picture of the wagers on Twitter after the Marlins won the series against the Cubs:
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports betting columnist Todd Dewey took to Twitter today to confirm that Stevens has made some hedge bets on his Marlins futures tickets:
Westgate’s Kornegay points out that the Marlins would have to get past the Dodgers or Padres in the NLCS–two of the best teams in the league:
“We’re certainly having fun with it. There’s no doubt we’re well aware of it and that’s why we’re certainly rooting for the Braves. But I’m not losing sleep over it.”
“They could upset the Braves but it would be quite the hurdle to overtake the Padres or the Dodgers in the NLCS because those are the two best teams in the NL.”
