Drake loses $500K Bitcoin bet on Mavericks in NBA Finals, risks further losses with NHL bet.
The renowned rapper Drake, who is renowned for his extravagant lifestyle on Instagram, recently placed substantial Bitcoin wagers on the outcomes of the NBA Finals and the NHL Stanley Cup Finals through his partnered betting platform, Stake.
Nevertheless, his $500,000 wager on the Dallas Mavericks capturing the NBA championship has been unsuccessful, and he may encounter a similar outcome with his NHL bet on Tuesday.
Drake posted a screenshot on Instagram on June 6 that disclosed his $500,000 Bitcoin wager on the Dallas Mavericks. Had the Texas team emerged victorious, the payout would have been $1.375 million.
Drake captioned the Instagram post with the phrase “Dallas, because I’m a Texan.”
Regrettably for the rapper, the Boston Celtics secured their 18th NBA championship by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the 2024 NBA Finals, a record-breaking feat. The Celtics were the dominant team in both the regular season and the playoffs, sweeping 15 of their first 17 postseason games. Dallas avoided elimination with a historic 122-84 rout in Game 4, despite taking a 3-0 series lead.
Nevertheless, the Celtics clinched the championship with a 106-88 victory in Game 5 on their home court. This was propelled by a 9-0 run to conclude the first quarter and a 21-point lead at halftime. With this championship, the Celtics surpass the Lakers in terms of the number of titles they have won in NBA history.
Drake’s Bitcoin wallet could incur yet another loss following his infamous dispute with Pulitzer Prize-winning nemesis Kendrick Lamar, should his NHL wager on the Edmonton Oilers also fail.
In the same Instagram post, the Canadian rapper disclosed that he had placed an identical $500,000 wager on the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup Finals. He is eligible to receive $1.025 million if his prediction is accurate. Drake wrote, “Oilers are self-explanatory.”
It is intriguing that Drake also included an additional half million dollars in one of his lyrics. Drake stated the following in the chorus of his fourth single of 2018, “I’m Upset”:
“I’m upset (‘Set, ‘set) / 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.”
The lyric may have anticipated Drake’s wager on the NBA Finals, and it serves as a confirmation of the rapper’s frequent high-flying lifestyle, as evidenced by the substantial expenditure.
Drake is unlikely to be in financial difficulty, as he is an official partner of Stake and one of the most prominent musicians in the world. Nevertheless, the emotional impact of losing $500,000 in Bitcoin, or conceivably $1 million if both bets are unsuccessful, is certain to be significant, regardless of one’s financial status.
Drake’s NHL wager will be resolved in the forthcoming days as the Stanley Cup Finals proceed. The rapper’s high-stakes Bitcoin bets have undoubtedly garnered attention, underscoring the expanding intersection between crypto, sports betting, and celebrity culture, irrespective of the outcome.