Celebrating Bitcoin Pizza Day: Underdog sports bets and BTC-bought pizzas
History is full of surprises, like how a million-dollar jackpot can come from a small and playful bet, and two pizzas can become one of the world's most expensive purchases of all time. In celebration of Bitcoin Pizza Day, reminisce about legendary moments when small risks turned into high-value tradeoffs!
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Bitcoin Pizza Day is coming on the 22nd of May—a delicious reminder of how far Bitcoin (BTC) and bold decisions can take you. Remember how small bets and risks can be worth so much more, like these moments:
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Milestone for crypto: Two large pizzas bought for 10,000 BTC
Bitcoin is now the most valuable digital asset in the crypto industry, but there was a time when it was only worth several pennies per BTC. This is especially true in May 2010, when it’s worth less than $0.01. That’s why it took programmer Laszlo Hanyecz 10,000 BTC to accumulate roughly $41 on 22nd May 2010 to pay for two pizzas.
The exact order was for two large pizzas from Papa John’s, marking the first real-world transaction paid for in BTC. Fast forward to today, those two pizzas would be worth $944,833,500. If each pizza is divided into 8 to 10 slices, then each slice is worth over $472,000,000. Since then, 22nd May is celebrated as Bitcoin Pizza Day every year in honour of this purchase.
Some people may look back at this event as a ‘mistake’ on Hanyecz’s part, because the amount he spent could’ve made him a multi-billionaire today. For others, this is a moment to look back to and celebrate as one of the best contributions to the crypto industry. It is the first real-world purchase in BTC that opened the floodgates for crypto adoption today.
Leicester’s title miracle – 5000/1 winning long-shot bet
Leicester City is considered one of the most volatile clubs in the Premier League (EPL). Most of the time, they perform so badly that they’re relegated to the English Football League (EFL), and other times, they’re so good that they’re in the top 10. Even so, nobody ever expects the club to claim the EPL in any season, making their 2015/16 title win a miracle.
The odds of Leicester City winning the EPL at the time were 5000/1. That is the same odds of finding Elvis Presley alive, or seeing Barack Obama play cricket for Team England, according to bookmakers at the time. In other words, the Foxes winning the EPL 2015/16 was basically impossible.
No one thought they’d win, but a few punters took the risk and still bet on the team. This paid off big time when Leicester City made a miraculous victory against all odds. Each of those punters was paid 5000/1, and The Foxes earned their only EPL title in history. Leicester City fan Leigh Herbert placed a £30 bet on them before the season started.
He did it as a fan and said he would’ve been happy even if he didn’t put a penny on them. This bet netted him a £20,000 profit, and all because he wanted to support his favourite team.
Greece won Euro 2004 – Payout 150/1
The Greek national team was far from what anyone would consider a title contender for the Euro 2004. They were ranked 35th in the FIFA World rankings just before the tournament, and they had to face favourites like France and Spain. Compared to them, Greece’s odds were abysmal, reaching only around 150/1.
Punters backing Greece made sympathetic or patriotic bets, not strategic ones. No pundits were considering that they might reach the knockout stage, yet the Greek national team shocked the world. They played to their strengths and beat their opponents, one after the other. Slowly, but surely, they made it to the finals, where they faced Portugal.
Team Greece ultimately won their first Euro title ever, and their backers won 150/1. It was a hefty payout for an otherwise impossible journey. Only Latvia were the bigger underdogs of that tournament, with odds to win priced at 500/1. Greece shot up to rank 14 after winning the tournament, a significant but deserved climb after an impressive display of skill.
Tiger Woods wins 2019 Masters – Payout 14/1
This story is legendary for two reasons:
- Compared to the previous two underdog entries on this list, Tiger Woods is among the best players in golf with 14 major championships under his belt. However, he has a long list of injuries, hurting pundits’ confidence in him for the 2019 Masters.
- Bets on the previously mentioned examples were low-stakes outside bets. This time, a 39-year-old punter bet $85,000 on Tiger Woods to win, which is a large sum of money for a high-risk bet. Labour worker James P. Adducci from Wisconsin was willing to risk it all despite his mortgage not being fully paid off at the time.
Two stars got golf fans’ attention in that tournament, one is Tiger Woods and the other is the big-time bettor, Adducci. All of America watched his fortune unfold when Tiger Woods won the 2019 Masters. Woods came out with a long-shot win despite his injuries, and Adducci claimed a total of $1.19 million in payout.
Interestingly, Adducci didn’t stop there. After his win, he doubled down with a $100,000 bet that Woods would win the remaining three majors that year. Unfortunately for Adducci, Woods only managed to win the 2019 Masters, making it his 15th major championship win.
A 15-leg accumulator bet turned 30p into £500,000
An accumulator bet is a type of wager where you combine multiple predictions into one ticket, and the odds are multiplied across each prediction for an exponential payout. This is similar to our multi-bet feature.
Mick Gibbs, a roofer from England, bets them all after winning a million-to-one shot in 2001. Instead of staking in one long-shot bet, he made a 15-leg accumulator bet across rugby, football, and cricket matches. He placed some of his wagers in all four professional English football leagues, rugby union’s Premiership, and cricket’s County Championship.
The odds of his accumulator bet were an astounding 1,666,666/1, with a humble stake of just 30p. That was mere pocket change, and he claimed a staggering £500,000 after all 15 legs of his ticket won. The bet was just a hopeful flutter from Mick Gibbs, who made a playful, but strategic prediction as a sports fan.
Do you have a ‘Pizza Moment’? What long-shot bets can teach you
Sportsbet.io calls each of the stories above a ‘Pizza Moment’, in reference to Bitcoin Pizza Day. It is defined as the legendary event in crypto culture that highlights how a seemingly trivial, low-value bet can become incredibly high-value in the future.
Have you made a similar bet in the past? Maybe it involves your favourite sports team, or a club that you didn’t care for but decided to place a bet on a whim. Did those bets pay off? If so, then how much did you win in payout, and what were the odds?
These are all exciting stories to tell, and they only happen because you placed a bet. Remember, that it doesn’t have to be a big bet. Consider these easy betting tips to maximise your enjoyment:
- Use Sportsbet.io risk-free bet giveaways or cash returns. This way, you’re not risking your bankroll to earn real money on a long-shot bet.
- Keep your bets small. What makes a long-shot bet fun is how it turns pennies into fortunes, and betting low is the best way to enjoy it.
Celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day with Sportsbet.io
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