Drake’s $500K Bitcoin bet goes wrong as Celtics dominate Mavericks 4-1
Renowned rapper Drake recently made headlines for placing hefty Bitcoin bets on both the NBA Finals and the NHL Stanley Cup Finals through his betting platform partner, Stake. However, his $500,000 wager on the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA championship did not yield the desired results, and he could face a similar outcome with his NHL bet on the Edmonton Oilers.
Drake took to Instagram on June 6 to share a screenshot of his $500,000 Bitcoin bet on the Dallas Mavericks. His bet would have earned him a handsome payout of $1.375 million had the Texas team emerged victorious. The rapper captioned the post by saying, “Dallas cause I’m a Texan.”
Unfortunately for Drake, the Boston Celtics clinched their 18th NBA championship by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the 2024 NBA Finals. The Celtics had an impressive season and playoffs, winning 15 out of their first 17 postseason games. Although Dallas managed to avoid elimination with a remarkable blowout in Game 4, the Celtics sealed the series in Game 5 with a 106-88 victory.
To add salt to the wound, Drake’s Bitcoin wallet might take another hit if his NHL bet on the Edmonton Oilers also falls through. In the same Instagram post, he revealed that he placed an identical $500,000 wager on the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup Finals, with a potential payout of $1.025 million. Drake simply stated, “Oilers are self-explanatory.”
In a bizarre coincidence, one of Drake’s lyrics from his 2018 single “I’m Upset” mentions half a million dollars, which aligns with his NBA Finals bet. The line goes, “Half a million on my head I can accept, yeah / ‘Least it makes me feel like someone tried their best, yeah / Want to waste a half a million, be my guest.”
While Drake, as one of the world’s most popular musicians and an official partner of Stake, is unlikely to face financial hardship, losing $500,000 worth of Bitcoin or potentially $1 million if both bets fail will surely be a sting, even for someone of his financial stature.
The outcome of Drake’s NHL bet will be determined in the coming days as the Stanley Cup Finals progress. Regardless of the result, his high-stakes Bitcoin bets have garnered attention, shedding light on the growing intersection of cryptocurrency, sports betting, and celebrity culture.