
Recent grad has life-changing $270,000 bet riding on Oilers, Thunder championships
Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards for more information.
New York sports bettor Drew Hirschman graduated college last month, but that hasn't been on his mind over the past few weeks.
Hirschman bet $13 last year on a long-shot five-leg parlay that is now very close to cashing in for more than $270,000.
The 24-year-old already hit on the Dodgers to win the World Series (+300), Liberty to win the WNBA Finals (+190) and Eagles to win the Super Bowl (+1700).
His two remaining legs are the Thunder to win the NBA Finals (+850) and Oilers to win the Stanley Cup (+850), putting him six wins away — three from each — from a $270,761.40 payday.
3 Meet Drew Hirschman, the college graduate who has a chance at $270k if the Oilers and Thunder win titles.
NY Post
But now comes the hard part for Hirschman, who received his computer engineering degree from Binghamton University in May: solving the complicated math problem of finding the right way to cash in.
'He's been fielding some offers and also looking at hedge opportunities,' Wager Wire CEO Travis Greiger told The Post.
Hirschman said he's not a 'huge' bettor and described this chain of events as 'pure luck.'
'I got home from work and I saw Saquon [Barkley] went to the Eagles and I'm a Giants fan and I was like, 'This guy is too talented, this team is too good, I can't imagine they don't go on a deep run.' So, I did some crafting and came up with this,' Hirschman told The Post.
'I am currently unemployed, looking for jobs. Living with my parents in Suffern (N.Y.). This gives me a little gap where I don't have to feel too pressured.'
3 The Oilers are in a 2-1 hole.
AP
Hirschman has hedged a bit at Caesars Sportsbook with the help of his father — a 'math guy' who has been financing his hedge combinations.
He said he's hedged more than $50,000, which leaves his ceiling just shy of $210,000.
'I definitely emptied my bank accounts,' Hirschman said. 'I'm very lucky to have a good support system. My dad is an actuary, he's a math guy, he knows what he's doing here. We put together (a plan) that) we thought is secure that will give us a good outcome. He's definitely been very helpful with the funds here as well. I'm not going to sit here and pretend I have over $50 grand to splash.'
3 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is trying to lead the Thunder to a title.
AP
If he wins, the new college graduate has a clear goal of 'don't blow it.'
'Going to max out the 401K, max out the Roth. Add to the emergency fund. Going to have a little fun. Maybe a little vacation. Bring the boys out to dinner. Bring my family out to dinner,' Hirschman said.
'I actually planned a little Vegas trip but not going to get too crazy. I also think property is a cool way to do it.'
Hirschman has been offered between $105,000-$115,000 for the ticket, although he's rejected those opportunities to date.
He received an intriguing $135,000 offer for the ticket which was nearly the exact value, according to WagerWire's true value calculator, but that offer was pulled before a deal could be pursued.
His cash out value was more than $80,000 at DraftKings prior to the Oilers' 6-1 Game 3 loss to the Panthers.
Hirschman was flown out by Bleacher Report (@Br_Betting on X) to produce content for the game on social media.
'I feel like a mini-celebrity right now, which is pretty cool,' Hirschman said. 'I'm in the works of getting to Edmonton for Game 5 and going to do a little North American tour.'
Betting on the NBA?
The Oilers' Game 3 loss, which put them in a 2-1 series deficit, was a tough pill to swallow for both this bettor and the team.
Edmonton dropped from -105 to +205 odds to win the Stanley Cup after getting smashed, while the Thunder are massive -525 NBA Finals favorite entering Wednesday's Game 3 with that series even at a game apiece.
Hirschman is still a winner here regardless of the series' winners thanks to some math work, but he is still willing to sell the ticket.
With the Game 3 loss, the ticket is worth $72,203 according to the true value calculator.
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he's showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Thunder vs. Pacers NBA Finals: OKC looks uncomfortable, and now its dream season is suddenly at risk
INDIANAPOLIS — As Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti turned the corner of the concourse in the bowels of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, following a 116-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, a look of concern covered the face of one of the smartest men in basketball. This is what the Pacers do. This is what they have been doing. They make opponents uncomfortable, and the Thunder, now trailing the best-of-seven championship series, 2-1, are as uncomfortable as they have been all season. Presti's 68-win juggernaut — the one so heavily favored in this series; the one we figured for a budding dynasty — is two losses from the franchise's best season ending short of a championship. Advertisement Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault found all sorts of ways to describe this loss by his young team as "uncharacteristic," and he found even more ways to say, "They outplayed us the majority of the game." "The turnovers were uncharacteristic," Daigneault said of his team's 19 giveaways, one shy of a season high. "Obviously we're usually pretty clean there. I give them credit. I thought they played really well." The Pacers played phenomenally, mostly because the Thunder did not apply the defensive pressure that they usually do. Indiana had something to do with that, too, playing so fast that Oklahoma City could not settle into its defensive pressure. It is hard to be physical with someone when you cannot catch them. "Just the pace of their offense was sharper than our pressure and physicality tonight," said Daigneault. "That's just what it came down to. They got the ball ahead of us more easily tonight than they did in the first two games. That led to a lot of the downstream effects of their offense and our defense tonight." Advertisement Mostly, though, the Thunder were not themselves, especially in the fourth quarter, when the league's MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a machine, attempted only three shots and failed to register an assist. "It felt like they won all the 50/50 plays," Gilgeous-Alexander said of the fourth quarter. "They executed on both ends of the ball. When you give those two things up, no matter what quarter, you're probably going to lose the quarter, especially on the road in a hostile environment as the crowd is behind them." "Their overall tone was better than ours for the majority of the game," added Daigneault. "Like I said, I thought we had some really good stretches, but we just made one too many mistakes and had one too many possessions on both ends of the floor where they were more tied to their identity than we were." Even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looked out of rhythm in Game 3, as Indiana's pressure pushed OKC into unfamiliar discomfort. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) Another point of evidence: The Thunder, the NBA's best free-throw shooting team, missed seven of their 30 attempts. All the coach could say to that: "It was an uncharacteristic night in a lot of ways for us." Advertisement The question, then: Why was everything about this game so uncharacteristic for Oklahoma City? Why did the real Thunder not stand up? Why, conversely, as Daigneault said, were the Pacers "in character in terms of their physicality, their pressure on defense" and "in character in terms of their pace on offense"? It is not like the Thunder did not know what to expect. This was a tied series. A championship is on the line. The Pacers did not defend them any differently, other than attacking pick-and-rolls at a higher point. "They were above the screen," said Gilgeous-Alexander. "When you come off it, you got to go backwards. It goes back to a little bit more force. If we're more aggressive setting up the pick-and-roll, then we get a better angle. Things like that usually come down to who throws the first punch. That's what that was." There it is again. The Pacers were throwing the punches. The Thunder were merely trying to avoid them. Advertisement It is curious, considering Oklahoma City lost Game 3 in its previous two series, including the Western Conference semifinals, which they also trailed to the Denver Nuggets, 2-1. The Thunder were well aware of the importance of this one, and still they took the court with a lack of force that was unrecognizable. "We've been in that exact same kind of predicament," said Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams. "This Game 3 was a better Game 3 than the ones we've had, so we'll take that and run with it. Yeah, I mean, it's very pivotal. Obviously you don't like being down in a series. But we have been here before." Only they have not. Not at this level. "It's the Finals, so it's a little different here," said Alex Caruso, the only member of the Thunder to have reached this level before, having won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers. "You're probably just slightly more frustrated with it. You just put in so much effort to not come away with a win when you have a chance to, especially on the road, it definitely stings a little. That's part of the playoffs, part of the Finals." Advertisement It would be easy to blame this on the Thunder's youth, their inexperience at this level of basketball. But it is not like Indiana has been here before. Their superstar, Tyrese Haliburton, is only 25 years old, a year younger than Gilgeous-Alexander, and the Pacers have no more experience than OKC on this stage. Maybe, then, the Pacers are playing freer in this series — clear of the expectations that come with being one of seven teams ever to win 68 games and one of the biggest betting favorites in NBA Finals history. Whatever the reason for OKC's shortcoming, they now face the prospect of a Game 4 in Indiana, where the crowd is its own animal — where the pressure will only be more intense. The winner of a pivotal Game 3 has won the series 80.5% of the time. Should the Pacers manage to take Game 4, too, that figure would increase to 95.6%, putting them on the brink of arguably the biggest Finals upset in NBA history. Advertisement "We've got to learn from it and then tap back into being who we are in Game 4," Daigneault said of his team's poor Game 3 performance. "If we do that, I think we'll have a much better chance to win." And if they don't? If they are uncharacteristically outplayed again? Then the Thunder are in real trouble.


Washington Post
21 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Oilers likely making a change for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Who starts in goal is a mystery
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Kris Knoblauch said Wednesday the Edmonton Oilers are likely making a change in their lineup for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers , though the second-year coach would not reveal what it would be or who he plans to start in goal on Thursday night. Stuart Skinner was replaced by Calvin Pickard late in Game 3 after allowing five goals on 23 shots on the way to a 6-1 defeat . Pickard allowed one more in mop-up duty. Knoblauch, captain Connor McDavid and others defended Skinner's play, insisting the team needed to be better in front of him. 'We've got to help him, for sure, and I think that he's been playing unbelievable in the last, what, three, four, five weeks,' defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. 'I don't know how long it's been now, but it feels like a long time and he hasn't had a bad game. Maybe last night was one of those when it was good to get it out of the system. Hopefully it's one of those, a night off.' Skinner has allowed 13 goals on 97 shots in the final, an .866 save percentage. Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky has allowed nine on 125, a .928 save percentage. 'He gives us a chance every night,' Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues said. 'That's all you can ask for, right? Some big saves, key saves at key moments and we're not taking him for granted, that's for sure.' Edmonton started the playoffs with Skinner, went to Pickard after two losses to open the first round against Los Angeles and won six in a row. Pickard was injured in the second round against Vegas, so Skinner got the net back and has been the starter since. He allowed 10 goals on 132 shots in five games against Dallas in the West final, a .924 save percentage. 'Calvin was playing really well but I think, also, we've always felt confident in Calvin,' Knoblauch said. 'Calvin's always been a guy who (has) been able to come in and give us good, quality starts.' The play in front of the crease is a bigger concern for the Oilers. Veteran defenseman John Klingberg is a team-worst minus-4 through three games. 'John's been great through the playoffs: He's gotten us through a lot of rounds,' Knoblauch said. 'At this time of the year, you want depth. You know there's going to be injuries and things you have to change up to your lineup.' Troy Stecher, who played a handful of games earlier in the playoffs when Ekholm was out, figures to take Klingberg's place if that is the move. 'Troy's been very valuable to our team, through regular season, playoffs and probably one thing we as a coaching staff appreciate a lot from Troy is just how dependable he is,' Knoblauch said. 'No matter if he's playing big minutes regularly, hasn't played for a long period of time, any time we've needed him he's given us really good minutes and usually not making mistakes.' Top-line forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is again going to be considered a game-time decision with an undisclosed injury. Nugent-Hopkins did not skate Tuesday. The Oilers had a (well-attended) optional practice Wednesday that included McDavid and Leon Draisaitl among the more than half-dozen players on the ice. One of the most noticeable moments of Game 3 was Aaron Ekblad connecting with McDavid on a clean, hard open-ice hit. McDavid almost helicoptered down to the ice as Panthers fans cheered. McDavid went to the locker room not long after but with an equipment manager, not a member of the training staff. Ekblad did not think much of it. 'I didn't think it was that big hit, no,' Ekblad said. 'I don't even think I got him that good, realistically. So, I don't know, I'm just trying to get in his way and separate man from puck and that's all you can ask for against a guy like that.' The body checks are piling up. Ekblad had three of the five on McDavid in Game 3, and the reigning playoff MVP has been hit nine times in the series. Florida has outhit the Oilers, but not by much: 137-124. Only nine-time Stanley Cup champion Scotty Bowman — father of Oilers general manager Stan Bowman — has coached more games in the NHL than Florida's Paul Maurice. With that comes some full-circle moments. On the other bench in the final this year and last is Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey, an assistant on Knoblauch's staff. Maurice when asked about older players delivering in the playoffs in light of Brad Marchand and Corey Perry starring in the final told a story about making Coffey a healthy scratch for the first game of the first round in 1999 against Carolina in his 'foolish youth.' 'He handled it great,' Maurice said. 'He said, 'I don't agree with it, but I understand it.' He went back and I think he rode the bike for about three hours. ... And then he went into Game 2 and he was maybe our best player (and) one of the best players on the ice. And I always remembered that as these older players view the playoffs differently.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and


Indianapolis Star
27 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
Tyrese Haliburton said his game will have 'ebbs and flows' but remains focused on winning NBA Finals
"The commentary is what it is at this point," Haliburton said. "We're here, in the NBA Finals, two wins away from an NBA championship." Dustin Dopirak and Nate Chute Tyrese Haliburton discusses the Pacers' Game 3 win over the Thunder Andrew Nembhard discusses the Pacers' Game 3 win over the Thunder Aaron Nesmith discusses the Pacers' Game 3 win over the Thunder. Pascal Siakam discusses the Pacers' Game 3 NBA Finals win over the Thunder