It’s tough to find a bigger football fan on the PGA Tour than Justin Thomas. JT bleeds crimson and white for his alma mater, the University of Alabama—and having seen his at-home setup with about eight TV screens—we already know he gets locked in for fall weekends. Just like any other sports fan would, he made it to a sports bar this weekend with some friends to watch the games. There’s a slight difference between him and us: His friends happen to be some of the world’s most famous people, and he’s probably betting more money than us.
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JT, a brand ambassador for Fanatics Sportsbook, was invited to place the first bet at the inaugural Fanatics Sportsbook that opened on Sunday at the ultra-lux Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City. Not surprisingly, his bet was a futures ticket on Alabama to win the college football national championship this year. (We’re told his bet was $100 at +950. We were surprised it wasn’t more to be honest.)
The Bama bet is a smart one, considering the Crimson Tide beat down Wisconsin on the road last weekend, and one of their biggest competitors in the SEC, Georgia, should’ve lost to the Kentucky Wildcats. It turns out it was a really smart one, considering Jay-Z and Fanatics founder Michael Rubin were with JT as he was making his bet—and they were trying to convince him to bet on the Dallas Cowboys yesterday. If you paid attention to the NFL last weekend, you know that would’ve been a disaster, as the Cowboys lost 6.5-point favorites.
JT stayed true to himself and put the long-term bet down on the Tide. We love a good futures bet, as he’ll now be able to root for that ticket the entire season. Talk about getting your money’s worth.
Justin Thomas makes the first bet at Fanatics Sportsbook at Ocean Casino in Atlantic City: $100 on Alabama to win the college football championship pic.twitter.com/AQqn2FF33G
— John Russo (@ACPress_Russo) September 15, 2024
Like we said, we’re just a little surprised JT didn’t put a little more cash down on the table. Perhaps he knew the cameras would be on him, and he didn’t want to seem too out of control. If JT hasn’t moved the line at this point, we might be on our way to the Ocean right now to catch those +950 odds … Jalen Milroe looked good on Saturday.
Courtesy of Roc Nation
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
