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The 2018 NCAA Tournament comes to an end on Monday night when the Michigan Wolverines go head-to-head with the Villanova Wildcats in the national championship game at San Antonio’s Alamodome.
While many fans will be tuning in and hoping they can come away with the points they need to win their office bracket poll, one Michigan fan has much more on the line.
Derek Stevens, who is a Michigan alum and CEO of the D Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, is poised to win $1 million if the Wolverines come away with a big win.
Michigan entered the tournament with 40-to-1 odds.
Tilman Fertitta, owner of Golden Nugget Casinos, Landry’s, and the Houston Rockets, accepted the bet at his casino.
#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
“I like (the) way Michigan is coming together,” Stevens said, via Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press. “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.”
The Golden Nugget Las Vegas has never paid out more than $100,000, so a Michigan win would result in the biggest loss in the casino’s history.
Tip-off between the Wolverines and Wildcats is set for 9:20 p.m. ET on TBS.
