When you're hot, you're hot, and right now Aaron Rodgers is hot. The Packers quarterback heads into Sunday afternoon's NFC Championship Game riding an incredible streak of strong football, having won eight straight games. And he's not alone.
Two close friends, Brian Yankelevitz and Russ Axelrod decided to pick an NFL team that needed to win out to make the playoffs. They chose the Green Bay Packers and then placed an initial $300 bet on them, and the plan was to roll the winnings into another bet every week until it won the Super Bowl. The Packers have won eight straight games, with their eighth and most recent game upsetting the Dallas Cowboys.
Even after turning $300 into nearly $30,000, they are sticking with their original plan. Less than an hour after the Packers defeated the Cowboys, Axelrod walked into the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, cashed the winning ticket vs. Dallas and placed the entire amount -- $28,213.60 -- on the Packers to beat the Falcons in the NFC title game Sunday.
If the Packers beat the Falcons, the guys will win $76,176.70 -- which they said will then be wagered on the Packers to win the Super Bowl against either New England or Pittsburgh.
Now the friends are two Packers wins from splitting between $150,000 and $200,000, depending on the Super Bowl odds. Each one of their bets has been on the money line (Green Bay simply has to win), with the Packers being an underdog in three of their eight wins.