You bet we’ree’re seeing green!
Gold to go for parlayay pals
They are the kings of Queens, and they’re coming up aces — for now at least.
Bayside buddies Brian Yankelevitz and Russ Axelrod’s faith in the once-floundering Green Bay Packers — emboldened by a bold Aaron Rodgers prediction — has turned their $300 Las Vegas bet into a $30,000 windfall.
On Nov. 25, the childhood chums plunked down three C-notes on the Packers, then with a record of four wins and six losses, betting the Pack would beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 28, after Rodgers predicted his team would “run the table” for the remainder of the regular season.
If the pals won, they vowed to let their winnings ride every week on the green and gold — all or nothing straight through to Super Bowl LI on Feb. 5
Fast forward nine weeks — and eight victories and parlay bets later — and the pair’s stake is up to $28,213.60.
Soon after Rodgers’ last-second heroics lifted the Packers past the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 34-31 last Sunday, Axelrod, 40, didn’t think twice about what to do next.
It was back to the Aria Resort & Casino, where he cashed the winning ticket and bet it all on the Packers to beat the Atlanta Falcons in this Sunday’s NFC title game in the Georgia Dome starting at 3:05 p.m.
If the Pack prevails, the two will win $76,176.70.
And then it’s one final bet on the Super Bowl, a wager that might pay off about $200,000.
“We’re all in! It’s the stuff of legends if it happens. We are doing it for all gamblers!” Axelrod said.
Yankelevitz, 43, a Jets fan who now lives in Orlando, Fla., and Axelrod, an Eagles supporter and Vegas resident, go back to their days at PS 169, IS 25 and Bayside HS. The guys have played together — and wagered together — on cards, football and the ponies since.
“We’d go to [the] OTB on Bell Boulevard when we were in ninth and 10th grade and have the guys place our bets,” Yankelevitz said.
“When you grow up with guys with nicknames Ice, Tommy No Neck, Cheetah, KO, Exacta, how could you not have a few gamblers?” he joked.
Asked if he was feeling lucky, Axelrod said, “I defer to Aaron Rodgers for all predictions.”
Yankelevitz did his best Joe Namathmath imitation, predicting 41-38 Packers. “Mason Crosby from 52 with no time left to win it.”
“And then it’s party time. Vegas will turn into Bayside west!” he said.