Every few months, a viral story breaks in the gambling world: “Mystery bettor turns $100 into $1.7 million!” These headlines capture our imagination because they represent the ultimate dream: low risk ($100) for a life-changing reward.
While the specific names of these winners are often kept anonymous by sportsbooks for privacy reasons, the method they use is always the same. It is never a single bet; it is always a massive Parlay (Accumulator).
The Math Behind the Miracle
To turn $100 into $1.7 million, you don’t need magic; you need specific odds. Let’s break down the numbers using our Odds Converter.
- Stake: $100
- Payout: $1,700,000
- Required Odds (Decimal): 17,000.00
- Required Odds (American): +1,699,900
Finding a single event with odds of +1,699,900 is impossible. Even the famous Leicester City Premier League miracle was “only” 5000/1 (+500,000). To reach 1.7 million, you must combine multiple bets.
How a Parlay Creates Massive Payouts
A Parlay (or Accumulator) links multiple bets together. The odds multiply, creating an exponential curve of returns. This is the only way to turn $100 into millions.
Example of a Million-Dollar Ticket:
To hit that $1.7 million mark, a bettor would need to chain together roughly 14 to 15 standard spread bets (at -110 odds) perfectly.
- Leg 1: $100 becomes $190
- Leg 2: $190 becomes $361
- Leg 5: $2,476
- Leg 10: $61,310
- Leg 15: ~$1,700,000
Do you have a crazy prediction? You don’t need to do the multiplication yourself. Use our Parlay & Accumulator Calculator to enter your odds and see if you have a potential million-dollar ticket.
Famous “Longshot” Winners
While the “$100 to $1.7 million” story is often an aggregate of various viral tweets, there are documented cases of similar insanity:
- Fred Craggs (UK): A Yorkshireman who bet 50 pence (approx $0.60) on an 8-horse accumulator and won £1,000,000. The odds were 2,000,000 to 1.
- The “Tayla Polia” Bet: A novice bettor who placed a $5 parlay on NFL games (picked mostly by team colors/names) and won $105,000. Odds: 20,000 to 1.
- Leicester City Backers: Several fans bet small amounts ($10-$50) on Leicester to win the league at 5000/1, cashing out hundreds of thousands.
The Reality Check: Probability
Before you rush to place a 15-leg parlay, look at the probability. The bookmakers love these bets because they almost never win.
Using our Implied Probability Calculator, we can see that the mathematical chance of hitting odds of +1,699,900 is approximately 0.000058%.
That is roughly 1 in 1.7 million. You have a better chance of being struck by lightning (1 in 15,300) than winning this bet.
Summary
The person who bet $100 to win $1.7 million was likely a lucky “lottery ticket” player hitting a massive parlay. While these stories are inspiring, they are statistical anomalies.
If you want to try for a massive win, use the Parlay Calculator to plan your ticket, but always remember the Golden Rule: Never bet money you cannot afford to lose.