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  "path": "/casinos-gambling/2026/05/22/key-my-lucrative-betting-how-cyclist-tadej-pogacar-miech-vegas-parlay-sportsbooks-sinner-alcaraz",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-22T17:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://chicago.suntimes.com",
  "textContent": "<p>LAS VEGAS — Exactly how, in the wide, wide world of sports wagering, did Tadej Pogacar steer his ultra-high-tech Colnago Y1Rs racing bike into my neighborhood?</p><p>First, I thank Tommy Lorenzo, the Southern California handicapper who, late last year, presented to me the art of parlaying different sports futures.</p><p>He highlighted Miami FC winning the MLS Cup to the Dodgers winning the World Series, a ticket he cashed.</p><p>Caesars, which operates the William Hill shop at M Resort, is the rare Nevada sportsbook that allows such arcane business.</p><p>That lets me mostly dodge the grind of day-to-day games, which is much more agreeable to my constitution.</p><p>Hence, as I explored the sports landscape for future-parlay considerations, I found<br>Pogacar, who has won four of the last six Tour de France races and is the -330 favorite this year.</p><p>Pogacar is the superstar of UAE Team Emirates XRG. The race begins in Barcelona on July 4 and ends in Paris on July 26.</p><p>I have one ticket with Michigan, at a -320 moneyline, beating UConn for the college hoops title, which happened, with Oklahoma City (+140) defending its NBA crown to Aryna Sabalenka (+250) winning the French Open.</p><p>I added Pogacar (-330), creating a 13-to-1 beauty.</p><p><b>No Alcaraz, no problem</b></p><p>An unintended consequence of parlaying futures arrived April 24, when Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the French Open with a wrist injury. I have several tickets with<br>Alcaraz winning in Paris.</p><p>I also concocted a few that have Jannik Sinner, the lithe Italian, winning the French, for insurance.</p><p>However, with Alcaraz’s departure, his spots on those tickets were voided. Three-way parlays became two-way, the five-ways became four-way, etc. Instantly, I had three winners to cash.</p><p>Wolverines moneyline (-305) to defeat UConn in the NCAA hoops finale with Junior Caminero to smack a homer (+305) against the Cubs on April 5 became a two-way parlay, without Alcaraz (+120) to win the French.</p><p>That 11-1 ticket got reduced to +483. For this minnow, though, the cashing of any ticket is reason to rejoice.</p><p>The second became Man City (+175) to defeat Liverpool on Feb. 8, the same date I had the Seahawks on the moneyline (-230) to beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Minus Alcaraz, that paid +295 (instead of +847).</p><p>The third involved those Seahawks to Hideki Matsuyama (-500) to win Group A on the first day of the WM Phoenix Open, which he did.</p><p>That ducat returned 72% of my initial investment; not a “big hit,” but that isn’t the point. I’m not out to hit the lottery, as regular readers know.</p><p>Besides, what other legal investment produces such a succulent 11-week return?</p><p>The day I cashed them, Lorenzo told me that cashing three future parlay tickets on the same day qualifies as an exceptional windfall. That reassurance felt good, as the Alcaraz-Sinner positions became win-wins.</p><p>Hopefully, tickets on both return dividends. For me, simply cashing a ticket is the point. I have several others, with the Alcaraz void, that I hope to take to the window.</p><p><b>Mitigating favorite prices</b></p><p>I had fun with many of these tickets, often combining odds-on favorites to turn heavy prices into enviable returns.</p><p>For the summer’s World Cup, I have Spain beating England, with France, Portugal and Germany likely affecting late knockout rounds.</p><p>At the M, I grabbed Europe to win it all at -400, or risk $400 to win $100. To offset that price, I added Sabalenka (+250 to win the French) and Pogacar (-300) to fashion a +483 ticket.</p><p>Moreover, I constructed many two- and three-way group-winner parlays, with the usual Euro suspects claiming the top spots in Canada, the US and Mexico.</p><p>I’ve got Kimi Antonelli (+155) to win the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, tied to Pogacar and the Thunder, making a +440 parlay ticket.</p><p>I had Karl-Anthony Towns to record at least five assists (he collected seven) against Philly on May 8, at -190, Sabalenka in the French and Pogacar, a +613 return.</p><p>On Jan. 30, I bought the Seahawks -230 to win the Super Bowl, Bayer Leverkusen +105 to defeat Eintracht Frankfurt on Jan. 31 and the Dodgers +230 to win the World Series.</p><p>Those first two came in, so if the Dodgers win their third consecutive championship that +871 ticket will cash.</p><p>And a ticket I bought Jan. 10 involved the Hoosiers winning the football title (-320), the Thunder (+120) winning the NBA crown and the Nationals to finish with fewer than 69½ victories, at -110, with a +451 return.</p><p><b>That’s entertainment</b></p><p>I goofed around a bit, too, because this is about entertainment.</p><p>These might have looked better two weeks ago, but I have both the Yankees over Cubs, and Cubs over Bronx Bombers, in the World Series, both at 45-1.</p><p>I added to my Chicagoland Portfolio.</p><p>Should the Cubs and Bears strike oil, I’ve got a 390-1 ticket on both winning titles, and 151-1 on both reaching their championship games, or series; plus, +535 on both winning their divisions.</p><p>Ultimately, my summer’s balance sheet could be determined by Pogacar, who, at 27, is just entering his prime.</p><p>Pogi, who has been compared to cycling legend Eddy Merckx, excels on descents.</p><p>It will be all downhill for me, too, if he claims his fifth Tour de France on July 26.<br></p>",
  "title": "The key to my lucrative betting? How about cyclist Tadej Pogacar",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-22T17:00:01.068Z"
}