- The 46-year-old businessman was at the game with his mother, Linda and friends
- Michigan will play either Texas or Washington for the National Championship title
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Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy celebrated a huge $1 million payday on New Year's Day after his alma mater, Michigan, earned a 27-20 overtime win against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The 46-year-old businessman was sitting in a box with friends and his mother, Linda, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, when the Wolverines scored a touchdown on their opening drive in the extra frame. After stopping the Crimson Tide on defense on the ensuing possession, Portnoy claimed he had won $1 million.
“Okay, emergency press conference. Holy fucking s***. I'm a million dollars richer. We're going to Houston!' Portnoy said in a self-filmed video shared on X, aka Twitter, after the game.
“Finally the Big Ten punched the SEC in the mouth, look at it breaking your teeth. Tale of two halves. We dominated the first, they dominated the second. We both made damn mistakes everywhere, but when it was on the line, […] it was the Michigan men who stood up and made plays when they needed to. '
Portnoy was then quick to trash his six-figure win, telling his followers “it's all about the natty” before apologizing to “Roll Tide Willie” – a huge Alabama fan on social media – for the outcome of Monday evening's match.
Dave Portnoy, 46, was in disbelief as Michigan beat Alabama in overtime in the Rose Bowl
The Wolverines scored a touchdown just under five minutes into OT to see off the Tide
“It's our damn time!” he added. The Wolverines will next face the Texas Longhorns or the Washington Huskies on January 8 in Houston, Texas.
Portnoy said he placed his bet on Michigan early last month, just six days after he vowed to stop gambling following a “monstrous” loss in an NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills.
Not long before, he faced some backlash for putting his Barstool Sports reality TV show “Surviving Barstool” behind a paywall.
On the last day of November, he revealed the reason behind his highly publicized divorce from ex-girlfriend and model Silvana Mojica, 28. The couple dated for about three years.
Also in November, Portnoy threatened to sue the Cincinnati Bengals after losing a $120,000 bet on the Baltimore Ravens winning.
According to The New York Times, Portnoy declared bankruptcy in 2004, after losing $30,000 in bets and racking up $59,000 in credit card debt. He also once owed his father, a lawyer, $18,000.
Barstool Sports' former parent company, Penn Entertainment, denied these claims at the time of the story's release in November 2022.