"Vegas" Dave Oancea is a professional gambler who owns a consulting site for bettors. If that name sounds familiar, it is because he won $2.5 million on the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so they say. And he ventured against Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 on Saturday.
"Vegas Dave" told MMAJunkie.com during fight week that he planned on putting $10,000 on Holm. Why?
"I’ll put $10,000 on her every time against her and just keep doubling up because eventually she’s [Rousey] going to lose—that’s my philosophy," he said. "It just takes one lucky punch. I’ll put $10,000 on her if they let me do it. I’ve got balls."
Well, it turns out he decided to double the bet. That's right. He laid down $20,000 on the boxer. And it paid off. He cashed the bet for $240,000 on the vicious head-kick KO. Not too bad for a Saturday night's work.
Professional gambler or not, it was a bold move to bet against Rousey. She was the most dominant figure in combat sports. She had thrashed every single woman to step foot in the cage with her. That's why the odds were so steep entering the event.
But "Vegas Dave" is right. All it takes is one punch. We have seen that come to fruition over and over again in this crazy sport of mixed martial arts. Anyone can be caught on any given day. Or rather, in Rousey's case, anyone can be dominated by a fighter who was not intimidated by prior results.
Holm came through as the steep underdog, and bettors such as “Vegas Dave" benefited greatly. And, I'm sure Holm did all right for her bank account too—and she has 12 pounds of gold to carry back to New Mexico as well.
