Hiram Moreno
We all know how exciting betting can be, which in turn makes it very dangerous. Some of them tend to go in a certain way from start to finish, while others have to go through some unexpected twists and turns before they are fulfilled — or, on the contrary, end up being bets that are painfully lost in the last seconds or minutes of the game.
This time, we will talk about the latter: about those bets where everything collapsed in a matter of seconds and left more than one gambler with a broken heart and of course, with monetary losses.
Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics, Under 7 runs, 04/24/15
A showdown between Dallas Keuchel and Scott Kazmir had all the makings of a low-run matchup in the Major League Baseball in which starters would do a good job, and it was, with the game stretching into extra innings without a single run on the board.
Everyone would have expected the game to end with a close score as usually happens in these instances, but with the relievers running out and going to the bullpen for anyone with a fresh arm, things got uglier and uglier.
The end result was a 5-4 Astros victory over the Athletics, with nine runners scoring in just two innings when in the previous nine just 12 had gotten on base. Sad but true.
Atlanta Falcons vs New England Patriots, +4.5 Falcons, 02/05/17
For better or worse, we all remember what happened in Super Bowl LI. Patriots fans will still be smiling while they remember what happened that night, while Falcons fans must have nightmares about it… and not to mention those who put their money on the Atlanta team to win their first Super Bowl title in the history of the NFL.
Until halftime, everything was looking excellent for the Falcons and for those who trusted in their handicap. The team went into halftime with a comfortable 21-3 lead that seemed to be the defining one… big mistake. New England scored 25 points in the second half, tying the score and taking it into overtime.
A field goal would have been enough to save the handicap, but it was not to be. The Patriots scored another touchdown to beat the Falcons in one of the most remarkable comebacks in sports history, bringing the handicap to just 1.5 points from being met.
Imagine betting on the Patriots at halftime.
Saint Louis Blues vs Toronto Maple Leafs, Maple Leafs (-120), 11/29/2000
A line of -120 makes you think of a pretty close game, but there was nothing further from the truth after the Toronto Maple Leafs jumped out to a 5-0 lead in this NHL regular season game. Many may have been celebrating at the time, while others may have thought something was going wrong.
Indeed, it was: the Maple Leafs’ dominance faded during the final period and spoiled all the work that had been done. During the 17:06 minute mark of the third period, Toronto was ahead 5-0, and from there until the end of the period the St. Louis Blues scored a total of five goals to force overtime, including one with 25 seconds remaining.
It didn’t take long for the Blues to wrap things up in overtime, scoring the winning goal just 17 seconds into extra time. Indeed, it was too good to be true.
