Anyone who has placed a bet has made a wager so outrageously bad that they've wanted to take it back. You don't have to admit it, that's cool. But we know.
Well, the next time that massive favorite you put in your exacta pulls up lame down the stretch or your set of jacks gets beat by a gut shot straight draw on the river -- or your favorite team blows a 21-point lead against a FBS school that has never played in a bowl game -- maybe there's hope.
I've never heard of a bookie having a heart, but I guess it happens. SportsBettingOnline.ag sent out a press release saying it was refunding all bets made on Arkansas, which was a 30-point favorite and lost to Louisiana-Monroe.
The charitable sportsbook explains:
"When a football team rallies from a 21-point deficit to win by three points in overtime, online sports bettors have good reason to be angry," said Dave Johnson, head oddsmaker for SportsBettingOnline.ag. "But when that team is a 30-point favorite and ranked eighth in the country, sports bettors have good reason to feel sick to their stomachs. And we don't blame them. The loss was unbelievable, and to profit from it really doesn't sit well with us. That's why we're refunding every single player who dropped money on Arkansas to win. It's the right thing to do and we'd be shocked if other online sports books don't follow our lead."
I'm actually pretty sure, instead of following SportsBettingOnline.ag's lead, most reputable books would laugh hysterically if you ask for a similar refund on your Razorbacks ticket, especially since that site is not exactly a well-known industry leader or anything. And this isn't the first time the site has made a publicity-seeking refund -- it did so for the controversial Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight, and gave another bad bet refund when Adam Scott blew a four-stroke lead at the British Open.
This story is more to point out that, if you bet on Arkansas last Saturday, you made a bet so bad that at least one shop took pity and refunded the losses. We don't recommend asking your local bookie if he'll honor that refund too.
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