Michigan Basketball is one victory away from a national championship, and one Michigan alum stands to cash in big should they accomplish the feat!
Derek Stevens is a Michigan graduate and is also the CEO of The D Las Vegas Hotel & Casino – not a bad gig to have! His confidence in the Wolverines was such that he was able to convince Tilman Fertitta (who owns the Houston Rockets, Landry’s, and the Golden Nugget Casinos) to accept a $25,000 bet at 40-1 odds that Michigan would win the national championship.
With their victory over Loyola on Saturday night, the Wolverines are just one win away from doing so and handing Stevens a big payday!
#OneStepCloser for @umichbball Thanks to @GoldenNuggetLV and my friend @TilmanJFertitta for taking the action. We’re going to have a lot of fun in Downtown #LasVegas #MarchMadness @theDlasvegas @GoldenGateVegas @FSELV #DTLV #40-1 pic.twitter.com/QbUUEN3KeJ
— Derek Stevens (@DerekJStevens) March 18, 2018
Stevens already has some big plans in the making should he win the grand prize.
“I’m re-investing it in building a new casino in downtown Las Vegas,” he said. “I have the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino and I have the D Las Vegas, which a lot of people from Detroit come to watch Tigers or Pistons. I’m in the process of building a third casino.’
Of course, you need a little luck in order to win championships.
“I like way Michigan is coming together,” Stevens said. “They have really pulled it together at the end of the season. The Big Ten tournament was just great. You could see how Coach (John) Beilein was bringing the team together. I thought when you looked at it this team might have a good run. In the NCAA no matter who it is you have to have a little luck; the way your bracket plays out. If the stars aligned I thought Michigan had a shot this year.”
Should he win $1 million, it would mark the biggest cash prize that the Golden Nugget has ever paid out – the most being $100,000 in the past.
