Florida Gulf Coast Could Earn One Man $10,000 on a $10 Bet

Entering the 2013 NCAA Tournament, very few people outside of Fort Myers, Florida had heard of Florida Gulf Coast University, but now the school’s basketball team has become America’s darling. After knocking off No. 2-seeded Georgetown in their first ever tournament game, the Eagles continued their magical run by taking down No. 7 seed San Diego State on Sunday.

Now, if Florida Gulf Coast can win two more games to reach the Final Four, they will make one man a very happy and rich person.

Ricky Jay Fredricks holds an insane betting slip that shows he placed $10 down on Florida Gulf Coast winning their region. Thankfully Fredricks doesn’t try to claim genius for his absurd bet, but he simply states he got lucky. That luck, and a debt from his friend, could help turn him in to one of Las Vegas’ most unlikely winners during the tournament.

“I really wish I had a cool story to tell,” Fredricks said, via ESPN.

“My roommate placed a bunch of bets, and this is just the one he randomly gave me. I don’t think he intended for them to actually win. He has a much larger bet on Florida [FGCU’s opponent on Friday] to win the championship, as well as a large wager on the field bet.”

Here is the betting slip that could turn out to be well worth the $10 bet:

Fredricks got the only 1000-to-1 bet on Florida Gulf Coast, according to Jeff Sherman, the assistant manager for the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino Superbook where the bet was placed.

It’s unlikely that Florida Gulf Coast can continue their run against a very impressive Florida Gators squad later this week, but they have shown us that they are capable of anything during March Madness.

It will be fun to see if the Eagles can continue their Cinderella story or if it will come to a screeching halt.