Last night, a shot from the field with three seconds to spare in the AFC Championship Game broke the “Drake Curse”. In addition to blowing the Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl, the team’s victory also represented a success for the rapper who seemingly always bets on the losing horse.
On Saturday night, Drake posted a screenshot to her Instagram story of his bet on the Kansas City Chiefs to win against the Cincinnati Bengals, much to the chagrin of many Chiefs fans. Betting $1.1 million on the Chiefs, he wrote, “Big Sunday, let’s buy Mommy something nice.”
For once, Sandi Graham (Drake’s mother) might be able to cash in on her son’s penchant for sports betting; Drake received a payout of over $2 million.
A multi-million dollar celebrity participating in some sports betting is not unusual; after all, many have even been known to buy or invest in sports teams to build their wealth. Drake has already diversified his income streams beyond the recording studio, through a partnership with Apple Music, brand endorsements for big names like Burger King and Sprite, and investments in real estate and products like plant-based chicken. Winning big bets is just a bet of a business strategy, another way for him to continue his rise as one of the richest rappers in the world.
But there’s a blithe superstition (which some take seriously) surrounding the Hotline Bling rapper’s bets. Simply put: Drake’s Curse means that when he bets a lot on one team, they tend to lose.
Just last year, he bet that the Duke Blue Devils would beat the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Final Four, that FC Barcelona would beat Real Madrid, and that Israel Adesanya would emerge victorious against Alex Pereira in a fight for the UFC middleweight title. His bad luck continued at the World Cup—even though he bet $1 million on Argentina, which he ended up winning, he still lost all his money within two minutes of placing his bet in the 1×2 market, the which does not count for extra time.
But Drake’s betting story isn’t pure bad luck, or maybe betting against the Bengals is where he gets lucky. The former Degrassi star took home $1.4 million after betting that the Rams would win the Super Bowl against the Bengals last February.
Almost a year later, he broke the curse once again. And while Rihanna (for whom Drake has continually publicly held a flame) is the true Super Bowl star, Drake will likely have an interest in the game as well.
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