It has always been said that it is better to be lucky than good. What happens when you are both? Well, the right person to ask right now is Hoa “Tony” Nguyen. Don’t be concerned if you don’t know who he is. You probably shouldn’t, unless you are a family member or a friend of Mr. Nguyen. That being said, Tony just achieved something remarkable and his name is starting to make the rounds in sports betting circles.

Going on a streak is something special. It doesn’t matter if you are the Cleveland Indians, the guy at the craps table, the guy trying to make it to work on time that hits a string of green lights, or the guy that picks 21 consecutive bets correctly. Tony is the first grand prize winner of the Streak Challenge over at DSI Sportsbook. We had a chance to catch up with the big winner the evening after he won $25,000 by picking 21 straight games in a row.

For those that don’t know about this contest, you probably should. Who knows? You could be the next Tony. Here’s how it works: As long as you have an account, you are free to join. Keep in mind that we’re offering an exceptional promo code bonus through our friends at DSI Sportsbook that comes with a $25 free bet and a 100 percent deposit match bonus for the sportsbook if you sign up using the promotion code ‘BTB25’. Make a deposit to have at least $5 in your account and have some wagering activity within the last 30 days and you’re good to go.

Once you’re all signed up and signed in, you simply start picking games. You’ll have to make a pick within three days or your count returns to zero. You can pick from the sides and totals from the games that are listed. If you win, you get one point and fill up one more day towards your streak. If you lose, your streak goes back to zero.

The monthly wins leader will get $1,000 in free play. If you run up a streak of five games, you’ll get $25 in free play. If you get to nine games, you’ll get $100 in free play. A streak of 13 games is good for $500 in free play. Get to 17 and you’ll win $2,500 in free play.

Get to 21, like Tony did, and you’ll win $25,000 in cash.

So, how did Tony do it? We caught up with the big winner and had plenty of things to ask about his start in betting, how he decided on his picks, and what he intends to do with the money.

Adam Burke: Really great streak, Tony. Congratulations! You should be very proud.

Tony Nguyen: Thank you. The grand prize was just awarded to me by BetDSI. I have to admit that I got extremely lucky, especially in the last five games. Three of the last five could have ended my streak.

AB: How long have you been handicapping sports and what made you decide to start betting on them?

TN: I have been handicapping sports for about 20 years now. I enjoy betting and gambling. I was playing card games when I was 12 before I came to America. When I got to America, I went to the casino in Atlantic City and soon after learned about betting on sports from a friend.

AB: What are your favorite sports to bet on?

TN: I can bet on any sport, but I prefer college and pro football because you can study the matchups and there are more teams to pick from on weekends.

AB: With only one pick, the margin for error is so small. How did you narrow down your picks? Did you stick with your strengths?

TN: For the first 10 picks, I just went with my gut feeling. Once I got to 10, I began to take a closer look at the lines and study more about the history of the teams if I knew I liked a game more than others.

AB: At what point did you start thinking that you could get to 21 and win the $25,000?

TN: BetDSI contacted me and I started getting some interview requests. At that point, I began to think I might have a chance at getting to 21.

AB: The one that got you to 21 was the Tennessee vs. Florida under. Did you start to hedge with some of those final picks?

TN: I put $1,000 on the second half over when the game was 6-3 at halftime. Needless to say, that win was a bonus to the Streak Challenge. I got extremely lucky since it looked like it was going to go to overtime and didn’t.

AB: Is it safe to assume this is your biggest sports betting win? What is your best gambling moment aside from this one?

TN: For sports contests, this was my biggest win. Back in 1994, I won more than $100,000 playing blackjack and Pai Gow tiles in Atlantic City, but I lost some of the winnings the next week.

AB: What do you plan to do with the money?

TN: I have always wanted to go to Las Vegas, but I haven’t had the chance yet. I am planning to take a few of my friends to Sin City for a tour later this year.

AB: Other DSI Streak Challenge players want to be the next Tony Nguyen. What advice would you have for them?

TN: Try to go with your gut feeling. When you get closer to 21, study more about what you pick. Knowledge is helpful, but luck is the most crucial thing.

AB: Anything else that you want to add about this awesome achievement?

TN: I just wanted to mention the fact that DSI’s contest team was rooting for me to win this Streak Challenge. When I got to 17, Mr. Brock from DSI contacted me to let me know that they were willing to waive the three-day rule to give me more time to choose my selections, but I told them no. I wanted to win the contest fair and square, so they put the rule back in.

 

 

As far as a comment from DSI goes, they had this to say:

“We extend our utmost congratulations to Tony, our first-ever $25,000 Streak Challenge winner. Picking a handful of games in a row correctly is no easy feat, but to string together 21 straight is a record few can say that they’ve achieved. Tony certainly had a few close calls during the streak, which makes this story even more exciting, but his overall handicapping of the selections, particularly the MLB totals, was quite impressive. We look forward to awarding our next $25,000 Streak Challenge winner.”

The list of winners is impressive, especially because it technically ran over a three-month period. As BetDSI was transitioning over the website and going independent, the contest was temporarily stopped from early July to late August. Here are the games that wound up being the Perfect 21 for Mr. Nguyen:

7/6: Marlins-Cardinals Under 9½ W1

7/7: Pirates-Cubs Under 9 W2

7/8: Braves-Nationals Over 9 W3

7/9: Braves-Nationals Over 9.5 W4

8/27: Rangers-A’s Over 10 W5

8/28: Rays-Royals Over 10 W6

8/31: Eagles-Jets Under 36 W7

9/1: Rays -1½ over White Sox W8

9/2: Reds-Pirates Under 8.5 W9

9/3: Angels-Rangers Over 11 W10

9/4 Cardinals-Padres Under 8.5 W11

9/5: Rockies -1.5 over Giants W12

9/6: Brewers-Reds Under 9 W13

9/7: Marlins-Braves Over 9.5 W14

9/8: Reds-Mets Under 8.5 W15

9/9: East Carolina-WV Over 66 W16

9/10: Rays-Red Sox Under 9 W17

9/11: Saints-Vikings Over 47.5 W18

9/12: A’s-Red Sox Over 10 W19

9/14: White Sox +1.5 over Tigers W20

9/16: Tennessee/Florida Under 50 W21

Unfortunately, Tony’s streak came to an end on Sunday night with the Dallas Cowboys failing to cover against the Denver Broncos, but his streak was a truly remarkable one and it gave him a very nice pay day.

Once again, if you want to get involved, sign up over at DSI Sportsbook, fund your account, and take your chance at free play and cash prizes in the Streak Challenge.