Tough luck for Delaware bettor

Remember that Delaware NFL parlay bettor? He lost $5, his original bet.

Actually, he could have won thousands, but word on the street is that he bet four $1,000 off-the-board three-team parlays in Delaware, taking both sides of two other games and the Eagles.

Each parlay pays 6-to-1. So, for his $4,000 investment, he got back $7,000, a $3,000 profit. He could have done better.

In his original Delaware parlay bet, the player had 14 straight NFL winners against the spread in Week 4. And a push in Week 5. If he had won that 15th game, he would have won $100,000.

The bet carried into Sunday night's Eagles-49ers game. The player had San Francisco, plus three points. The Eagles won by three.

If this had been a single game, it would have been a push or no bet. On this 15-team parlay card, however, ties lose.

If the original card had the Eagles favored by 3 1/2 points, the player would have won $100,000. It had the Eagles by three so the player lost his original $5 investment.

Tough beat.

The player could have bet many thousands on the Eagles in Nevada and, as it turns out, he would have won. He has not been identified and his original parlay bet and his Sunday bet were placed at Harrington Raceway.

The amazing part of this scenario is that the spread changed by 6 1/2 points from the original parlay-card number. After Mike Vick got hurt and the Eagles looked terrible in their loss to the Redskins, the Eagles went from three-point favorites to 3 1/2-point underdogs.

So, that gave the player a six-point "middle" for a lot of money, something serious players can only dream about.

The player also could have taken the Eagles on the money line in Nevada, where he would have had to bet $100 to win $150. Or $50,000 to win $75,000. Or increase whatever unit by 50 percent.

There would have been no spread involved. So an Eagles bet on the money line would have been a winner just as the even-money proposition on the Eagles with the 3 1/2 points.

The "middle" would have been irresistible to most bettors, as there was a real chance to win both bets against the spread.

The player chose to make a small bet on the Eagles. He won $3,000. He would have won $96,000 on the 49ers. *