Belterra Pays Out $1.13M On Winning $1.3M Ohio State-Clemson Bet

By | Updated on 8 December, 2021

Chris Altruda has been a sportswriter with ESPN, The Associated Press, and STATS over more than two decades. He recently expanded into covering sports betting and gambling around the Midwest. His Twitter handle is @AlTruda73.

An unidentified bettor rang 2021 in grand style at Belterra Casino in southern Indiana on Friday night when his $1.3 million bet on underdog Ohio State paid off with the Buckeyes defeating Clemson 49-28 in the Sugar Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff semifinal.

The bettor, who is known as “The Indiana Man” according to the FanDuel Sportsbook Twitter account, made the hefty wager of Buckeyes +7.5 points at -115 odds. It was smooth viewing for most of the contest as Ohio State (7-0) scored four consecutive first-half touchdowns to erase a 14-7 deficit and kept the Tigers at arm’s length throughout the second to advance to Monday’s CFP championship versus Alabama (12-0).

The win resulted in a $1.131 million payday for The Indiana Man, who could choose to extend that good fortune on a similar play Monday. The Buckeyes are again 7.5-point underdogs at -115 against the Crimson Tide to decide the national title. Belterra Casino Vice President of Operations Joe Barrett declined to comment on the winning wager when reached by Hoosier State Bets.

A monstrous bet by Belterra standards

The $1.3 million bet exceeded every monthly retail sports betting handle total reported thus far by Belterra to the Indiana Gaming Commission since sports betting began in the Hoosier State in September 2019. Belterra’s highest retail monthly handle to date was $948,810 in December 2019, though its most recent reported total of $868,781 in November ranks fourth overall.

Not including adjustments, Belterra’s retail sportsbook had generated $400,677 in revenue through November in 2020.

In terms of other gaming options at Belterra, the wager came in slightly under what the casino has typically reported for its monthly drops on craps in 2020. It did, though, exceed the drop for every monthly report last year for house-banked poker.