Jason was hiding in a closet at work, glued to his phone. He was going “full tilt.” In gambling parlance, that means he lost a bet, was spiraling and would soon start wagering indiscriminately as he chased his money into a financial void.
It was Jan. 28, 2024, the AFC Championship game. Eyes wide and heart pounding, Jason watched as the clock ticked away, as the Kansas City Chiefs racked up points against his Baltimore Ravens, and as the odds, and score, tipped insurmountably in their favor. Bet after bet went bust. By game’s end, he was out nearly $5,000 — money he couldn’t afford to lose.
Then, “I just lost it,” said Jason, a 30-year-old who at the time worked at a rehab facility in Stuart, Florida, a coastal city about 40 miles north of Palm Beach.
He had to win it back. His hand dove for his pocket, fishing out his wallet, exhuming cards — credit, debit, whatever — and punching their digits into his favorite betting apps.
He spread $20,000 across a menu of prop bets — wagers on specific, in-game events that aren’t related to the final score, like what color Gatorade will be dumped on the winning coach’s head — as well as the final outcome of the NFC Championship later that evening.
Few went his way, and Jason went to bed that night with a $15,000 hole in his bank account. #florida #gambling #online #sports #betting #hardrockbet #app
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✍️: Max Klaver
📹: Max Klaver, Pierre Taylor
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