Jon Lawson, a poker player from Nebraska with more than $170,000 in live tournament earnings, turned a $500 sports bet into a $75,000 score thanks to Joe Burrow winning the Heisman Trophy.

In June 2019, when Lawson was in Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker, placed the $500 futures bet on Burrow to win the Heisman Trophy at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas Hotel & Casino in Downtown Las Vegas. At the time, the odds for the LSU Tigers quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy were at 150-1. Lawson actually wanted to bet $1,000, but the Golden Nugget sportsbook would only accept $500 on the wager.

“I got call from a friend of mine to see if I could place a wager on Joe winning the Heisman and I told them I would check into it,” Lawson told SharpSide.com. “So I asked a buddy of mine who lives at the sportsbooks and he said to go Downtown and look. I think I was playing a poker tournament at Binion’s and was roaming around on dinner break and stopped in to Golden Nugget. I talked to their book and they gave me the sheet. I saw Joe at 150-1 and wanted $1,000 on it, but they only gave me $500.”

Lawson said the $75,000 payday was the biggest win from a sports bet he’s ever had. It also trumps the biggest score he’s had on the poker felt, which came from a 2015 Heartland Poker Tour event in Kansas City. In that event, Lawson took seventh for $16,495. He told SharpSide.com that he’s unable to compare winning the bet to winning a poker tournament because he hasn’t won a big poker tournament yet.

“I have won quite a bit of money playing cash in different sessions and both feel damn good,” Lawson added.

The 150-1 futures bet wasn’t the only bet that Burrow and LSU helped Lawson win during the college football season. Lawson fired $2,000 on the moneyline for LSU to beat Alabama and they did, earning Lawson a $3,000 win. He also told SharpSide.com that he put $8,000 on the point spread for that game, winning that bet as well.

Lawson also had money on LSU to win the College Football National Championship. On Monday, January 13, in front of a pro-LSU crowd in New Orleans, LSU defeated Clemson 42-35 to win the National Championship. Lawson had a $300 bet with 30-1 odds on LSU to win the National Championship, so he cashed that for $9,000.