Owner of D, Golden Gate Casinos Places Huge NCAA Bet

This story was published more than 8 years ago.

A few months back the owner of the D and Golden Gate Casino Hotels in Las Vegas placed a big bet on his favorite NCAA basketball team, and he stands to clean up nicely if his team can complete the task.

Derek Stevens, the owner of the two casinos stopped by the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino on December 5th and dropped a $20,000 bet on the Michigan State Spartans to win the NCAA tournament. The Spartans had just lost their third game of the season, and stood at 50:1 odds at the time. Currently Michigan State is on quite a run, having advanced to the Final Four where they will play Duke on April 4th. If they prevail in that game, the Spartans will play for the National Championship against either Wisconsin or Kentucky on April 6th.

The bet was controversial, as the Golden Nugget doesn't usually accept bets that could cause a large loss for the casino, and it required the Golden Nugget's Sportsbook Director Tony Miller calling the casino's owner for approval. The bet was a first for Miller, who said, "In my nine years at this sportsbook, I never accepted a bet that could result in us paying $1 million. The most I've ever seen won here was a $100,000 parlay."

"This would be a massive loss for us," Miller said. "I see days where we lose $10,000 to $30,000, but nothing close to $1 million."

If Stevens wins, he says he has big plans, which include giving bonus money to employees, investing in the Tarkanian Basketball Academy and putting more money into his properties.

Casino Listings will update this story as more developments arise.

About the author

Dustin Jermalowicz // News Editor
Dustin Jermalowicz
Dustin has a long-standing passion for gambling. He has been writing professionally on the subject and breaking industry news for Casino Listings since 2011. His favorite casino games include Blackjack, Poker, and Hi/Lo. A proud native of Detroit, Dustin currently lives in Michigan.