Sports Betting National Championship Controversy

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Here were the rules:

The entry fee was $10,000 with $5,000 going to the prize pool and $5,000 being used as a live bankroll on each entrant’s DraftKings sports betting app. Players had to make all wagers on the app from within New Jersey’s state borders. They could've played any sports that were available on the app on Friday and Saturday (must bet a minimum of $1,000 by the end of Saturday’s betting day), but Sunday’s menu included only the two NFL divisional playoff games (minimum wager of $2,000). Players got to keep the final bankroll in their account, even if they did not finish in the money (and, of course, any contest winnings are a bonus on top of their earnings).
 

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I guess several players were within striking distance of 1st place but the NE -3.5 wasn't graded fast enough so they couldn't get down on the NO/Philli game. They had to settle for what they had following the NE game.

There were 215 entries including Phil Helmuth.
 

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http://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/i...ntroversy-leader-prevented-making-final-wager

1st time doing the event not too surprising that it would be subject to some issues. Was poorly planned from the start, as evidenced by the fact they only filled 50% of what they wanted.

My guess is this guy gets a lawyer and DK gives him some money to go away. They hit the lottery 100 times over with sports betting legalization, they're not gonna want any bad publicity from this.
 

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I was following this on twitter as it happened. Rufus would have won had the bet been graded in time. He's a stand up guy and one of the sharpest minds in the game. I hope DK makes it right.
 

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Oh, I'm sure his lawyer will make sure they do.

Dunno if he gets a full million though. I know a few people that participated and they said there were all kinds of glitches, the limits on events were very sporadic and almost random so you couldn't really plan bet sizing and the site was constantly having issues.

Obviously there is a reason prior to DK doing this that no one else in the sports betting space has really tried.
 

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I was following this on twitter as it happened. Rufus would have won had the bet been graded in time. He's a stand up guy and one of the sharpest minds in the game. I hope DK makes it right.

To my understanding, Rufus was in first place prior to the Saints/Philli game. Who’s to say he would’ve made the proper play on that game to secure his first place position? I read he said he liked the Saints.
 

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You can’t assume Rufus would’ve won had he been able to make a final play?
 

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To my understanding, Rufus was in first place prior to the Saints/Philli game. Who’s to say he would’ve made the proper play on that game to secure his first place position? I read he said he liked the Saints.

Yeah, he was robbed of the chance to compete though. At 4:30pm when he gets screwed, no one knows the Saints are going to then go on to not cover.

He joined a contest with a 10k buy-in and wasn't given a fair shake. He'll probably get some money coming his way.
 

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To my understanding, Rufus was in first place prior to the Saints/Philli game. Who’s to say he would’ve made the proper play on that game to secure his first place position? I read he said he liked the Saints.

He made it pretty clear he was taking NO ML and the under. But really that isn't the point, it's the fact he had no chance to compete.
 

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Why don't they go back and grade the contest as over based on the results of the Patriots game?

It is crazy they're calling a guy a "winner" when 50% of the players couldn't play the game he did.
 

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Knowing him I'm sure it was all well calculated. By taking NO ML he would allow himself for hedging opportunities. So it's very possible this cost him even more being the middle would have hit as well.
 

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He made it pretty clear he was taking NO ML and the under. But really that isn't the point, it's the fact he had no chance to compete.

I believe he had made a tweet prior to game he was taking NO ML. I read, not sure of the accuracy, based on the outcome of the game and his tweets pre-game he would have finished first, but couldn’t get down on the game.
 

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Why don't they go back and grade the contest as over based on the results of the Patriots game?

It is crazy they're calling a guy a "winner" when 50% of the players couldn't play the game he did.

That would be even more convoluted/controversial than this result. Just chalk it up to a fuckup, pay the guy some and move on.

So much of the tournament strategy is based on firing on the final game based on your position that if you just cancelled the NO/Phi game results, there would be even more of an uproar.
 

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I believe he had made a tweet prior to game he was taking NO ML. I read, not sure of the accuracy, based on the outcome of the game and his tweets pre-game he would have finished first, but couldn’t get down on the game.

That's the way I read it as well. I just couldn't find 100 percent confirmation that was the route he was going.
 

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"New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement said Monday that it was reviewing the incident."

Not sure what they can really do
 

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Yeah, he was robbed of the chance to compete though. At 4:30pm when he gets screwed, no one knows the Saints are going to then go on to not cover.

He joined a contest with a 10k buy-in and wasn't given a fair shake. He'll probably get some money coming his way.

Well yeah, agree but he can’t sue based on projected earnings though.
 

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That would be even more convoluted/controversial than this result. Just chalk it up to a fuckup, pay the guy some and move on.

So much of the tournament strategy is based on firing on the final game based on your position that if you just cancelled the NO/Phi game results, there would be even more of an uproar.

He did get paid though based on his finish. It’s not like he walked away with $0.
 

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Knowing him I'm sure it was all well calculated. By taking NO ML he would allow himself for hedging opportunities. So it's very possible this cost him even more being the middle would have hit as well.

He couldn’t hedge. There were no in-game plays allowed as I understand?
 

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