Las Vegas casino owner loses $109K on first round of NCAA Tournament

Las Vegas casino owner Derek Stevens bet a total of $352,000 on the first round of the NCAA Tournament, wagering $11,000 to win $10,000 on each of the first 32 lines posted by the South Point on Selection Sunday.

Stevens lost a total of $109,000 after going 10-19-3 on his bets Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The owner of The D and the Golden Gate got off to a brutal start, losing all four of his plays in the First Four and going 3-10-2 Thursday. He was 3-14-2 and down $124,000 heading into Friday, when he won four of his first five plays. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }

Stevens, a Michigan native, cashed his ticket on the Wolverines, who won but didn’t cover the 2½-point spread for most bettors in Friday’s 92-91 win over Oklahoma State when Jawun Evans hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Stevens bet Michigan at pick’em.

After his hot start Friday, Stevens went 3-4-1 the rest of the day to finish 7-5-1. He lost on Wichita State, which beat Dayton by 6 but didn’t cover the 6½-point spread. And he pushed on UCLA, which won by 17 after it dribbled out the clock following a late Kent State layup.

“Man, these things have been tough,” Stevens told Brent Musburger (VSIN.com) on Thursday. “This has been brutal. The boys at the South Point, oh, they’ve been right on the number. Isn’t this amazing how great these bookmakers are in Las Vegas?”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.