Bettor loses $75K share of Last Man Standing prize on punt return

Every bettor who backed the Rams against the spread over the Giants suffered a tough loss. But the result was especially painful for one of the final two entries in Station Casinos’ NFL Last Man Standing contest.

Only two contestants from a field of 6,324 who paid $25 per entry (five for $100) had picked 16 straight weekly winners ATS and were still in the running for the $150,000 prize entering the final day of the contest Sunday.

One entry took the Ravens -3½. The other selected the Rams -4½.

Baltimore led Miami 14-13 late in the first half before exploding for 21 consecutive points en route to a 56-19 rout that secured at least half the prize, or $75,000, for one contestant.

The Rams, who closed as 6½-point favorites, went ahead 26-19 on Kyren Williams’ 28-yard touchdown run with 12:03 left. Los Angeles still led by seven when Ethan Evans launched a 58-yard punt to the Giants’ 6-yard line with 3:27 left.

That’s when Gunner Olszewski all but ran off with the second-to-last man standing’s $75,000, as he returned the punt 94 yards for a touchdown to make the score 26-25.

The Rams held on for a 26-25 win, but didn’t cover after Tyrod Taylor’s two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.

That left the Last Man Standing winner $150,000 richer after going 17-0 ATS.

“That’s pretty impressive winning it in the last week of the contest,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “This is one of the deepest we’ve ever gone in Last Man Standing.”

Raiders help cash 10-teamer

Another Station Casinos bettor had a glorious day thanks, in part, to the Raiders getting a backdoor cover in their 23-20 loss to the Colts.

The Raiders, who closed as 3½-point underdogs, trailed 23-13 and faced fourth-and-goal at the 1 with 43 seconds left when Davante Adams hauled in a touchdown pass from Aidan O’Connell.

The score dealt a blow to Colts bettors and to the Westgate SuperBook and Station Casinos, who both lost on the game.

A bettor at Station hit a $50 10-team parlay card that paid $40,000 and had the Raiders +3½ on it.

“Not good for us,” Esposito said. “We were clearly Colts fans. We saw a lot of late Raiders money come in. One of the bigger morning decisions was needing the Colts.”

The SuperBook had a losing day after dropping decisions on the Raiders, Ravens and Chiefs, who scored the final 18 points on six Harrison Butker field goals to beat the Bengals 25-17 and cover as 7-point favorites.

“Overall, we’re a small loser for the day,” SuperBook vice president Jay Kornegay said. “Lost our top three decisions on the Raiders, Ravens and Chiefs. But won a majority of the others.

“As expected, the handle was lighter than normal due to the holiday, but we expect it to be back to normal next weekend.”

Cards stun Eagles

Arizona shocked Philadelphia in a 35-31 victory as an 11½-point road underdog that killed a ton of teasers and money-line parlays.

The Eagles, who blew a 21-6 halftime lead, have lost four of their past five games while going 0-5 ATS, and they are no longer in control of the NFC East race.

“It’s hard to believe the Eagles are the same team that was 10-1,” Esposito said. “It’s looking more and more like they’re going to be the No. 5 seed.”

In other games with double-digit spreads, the Bills beat the Patriots 27-21 but didn’t cover as 15-point favorites, and the 49ers won and covered as 14-point favorites in a 27-10 win over the Commanders.

Survive and advance

The four remaining entrants in the Circa Survivor contest survived Week 17 and will play for the $9.2 million prize in Week 18, though they reportedly agreed to a partial chop of the pool and will play for an additional $2 million plus.

The entry Circus Master had the Browns, IndianaJet had the Texans, Jax Jags had the Colts and Lajoneser had the Broncos.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.