Dave Portnoy plans to let it ride. 

Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, will make $2.16 million if UConn beats Purdue in the NCAA Men’s Tournament championship game Monday night. 

And he won’t be hedging a dime – even though Purdue was as low as +235 on the moneyline Sunday morning. That means Portnoy could back Purdue with $500,000 and profit $1.17 million, ensuring himself a $1+ million profit no matter which team wins. 

“No plans to hedge,” Portnoy told bookies.com via DM on Sunday morning. 

On March 20, Portnoy placed a $600,000 wager on UConn to repeat as national champions getting +360 odds at DraftKings. A UConn victory Monday would mean a $2,760,000 payout for El Presidente. 

That wager was made on the Wednesday between the end of the first two rounds of the tournament and ahead of the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. It is the largest single futures wager made at DraftKings on the NCAA Tournament. 

“I thought they were a million times better than everybody else in the tournament,” Portnoy said when asked why he backed UConn with such a large wager with four tournament games to play. 

Since Portnoy placed his bet, defending national champion UConn has defeated San Diego State in the Sweet 16, Illinois in the Elite Eight, and on Saturday night, Alabama in the Final Four. UConn won those games by a combined 245-176 score. 

UConn On A Roll Against The Spread

The Huskies were at least -300 on the money line in each game. And they covered in each contest. UConn is 9-1 on the line in its past 10 games. UConn beat Alabama 86-72 Saturday, covering on the 11.5-point spread. Overall, UConn is 26-11 against the spread and 36-3 outright this season. Purdue is 21-15 ATS and 34-4 overall. Both teams had early-season matchups that were off the board. The teams are both No. 1 seeds in their respective regions.

Looking ahead to Monday night, UConn has hovered between a 6 and 6.5-point favorite over Purdue at DraftKings. That line opened at UConn -6.5. The Huskies were as high as -278 on the moneyline Sunday. The total has edged to 146 after opening at 145.5. 

Barstool entered into a marketing partnership with DraftKings following Super Bowl 58. Portnoy bought his company back from Penn Entertainment for $1 after Penn opted to join forces with ESPN BET. Barstool had a non-compete entity that expired after the Chiefs beat the 49ers. 

Barstool and DraftKings originally partnered a decade ago. Back then, DraftKings offered fantasy play and Barstool was still based in Boston. 

Is Miss Peaches Backing The Huskies?

Portnoy's support of canines pre-dated his massive UConn bet. Portnoy has become a sensation in the animal community after he adopted a rescue American pit bull known to all as Miss Peaches. The dog was among 26 canines rescued from a neglect situation in Atlanta. Since Portnoy moved Miss Peaches “from the outhouse to the penthouse,” the canine has amassed more than 583,000 followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram. 

“Hopefully I’ve inspired lots of people to go find their own Miss Peaches. All dogs deserve to be loved like I am. Help clean out all the shelters,” Miss Peaches posted Sunday on Instagram in a post celebrating the 1 million-follower milestone. 

“She’s honestly the best thing ever,” Portnoy added on the video. As of last week, Barstool and Portnoy have raised approximately $500,000 for multiple animal shelters, including the LifeLine Animal Project in Atlanta, That was the shelter from which he adopted his new BFF. 

It’s expected that Miss Peaches will be backing her fellow canines in the championship game on Monday night. 

But any affection Miss Peaches may have for the Huskies, or huskies in general, ends at the basketball court. 

“Miss Peaches isn’t dating,” Portnoy said.