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

By TODD DEWEY LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

9 years ago

Derek Stevens, owner of the D Las Vegas hotel-casino, watches opening round lines come in at the conclusion of a live broadcast covering the NCCA Tournament on the Vegas Stats & Information Network on Sunday, March 12, 2017, at South Point hotel-casino, in Las Vegas. Stevens bet on all 32 opening round games, totaling $350,000. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @benjaminhphoto

Brent Musburger, left, Derek Stevens and Bruce Marshall share a laugh while watching opening round lines come in during a live broadcast covering the NCCA Tournament on the Vegas Stats & Information Network on Sunday, March 12, 2017, at South Point hotel-casino, in Las Vegas. Stevens, owner of the D Las Vegas hotel-casino, bet on all 32 opening round games, totaling $350,000. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @benjaminhphoto

Derek Stevens, owner of the D Las Vegas hotel-casino, discusses opening round lines during a live broadcast covering the NCCA Tournament on the Vegas Stats & Information Network on Sunday, March 12, 2017, at South Point hotel-casino, in Las Vegas. Stevens bet on all 32 opening round games, totaling $350,000. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @benjaminhphoto

Derek Stevens, left, owner of the D Las Vegas hotel-casino, and handicapper Bruce Marshall discuss opening round lines during a live broadcast covering the NCCA Tournament on the Vegas Stats & Information Network on Sunday, March 12, 2017, at South Point hotel-casino, in Las Vegas. Stevens bet on all 32 opening round games, totaling $350,000. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @benjaminhphoto

Derek Stevens, owner of the D Las Vegas hotel-casino, watches opening round lines come in during a live broadcast covering the NCCA Tournament on the Vegas Stats & Information Network on Sunday, March 12, 2017, at South Point hotel-casino, in Las Vegas. Stevens bet on all 32 opening round games totaling $350,000. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @benjaminhphoto

Brent Musburger, left, and Derek Stevens discuss opening round lines during a live broadcast covering the NCCA Tournament on the Vegas Stats & Information Network on Sunday, March 12, 2017, at South Point hotel-casino, in Las Vegas. Stevens, owner of the D Las Vegas hotel-casino, bet on all 32 opening round games totaling $350,000. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @benjaminhphoto

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.