A video of a popular sports betting influencer arguing with Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel & Casino officials over non-payment of a $500,000 winning ticket has gone viral, but people are still looking for answers on what exactly happened.
argued with casino management, security, and even police that he had a valid, winning ticket
Here is what we know: a week ago, though it didn’t really pick up steam until Friday, sports betting influencer Manny Cortez, best known as “fortmannybets,” posted a video to his Instagram account of his problems trying to get paid $500,000 in winnings at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina. Holding an empty Louis Vitton bag, he argued with casino management, security, and even police that he had a valid, winning ticket, and should be paid like any other patron.
Cortez even reminded them that Harrah’s Cherokee and Caesars Sportsbook both posted his winning ticket on their social media accounts to market their businesses, yet still refuse to pay him. The posts have since been taken down.
What we don’t exactly know is why the casino and sportsbook are refusing to pay Cortez. Though most of his social media followers are on his side, the prevailing theory is that he enlisted a third party to place his bet, which is not permitted under North Carolina sports betting regulations. X user “DoZay” pointed out that Cortez posted a picture of his betting slip in June – $143,000 to win $357,500 if the Boston Celtics won the NBA title, which they did – along with the caption: “Callled [sic] up my Bookie to raise up the limit!”
The use of the word “Bookie,” combined with Cortez saying in the video that he traveled hours to the casino for his payday, could mean that Cortez had someone else place the bet at Harrah’s Cherokee and send him the ticket. But other than these clues, there is not a definitive answer, at least publicly known, as to what exactly resulted in the incident at the casino.