NJ governor loses his state’s first-ever legal sports bet

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) lost his state’s first legal sports bet — a $20 wager that Germany would win the World Cup.

Murphy put $20 on Germany, the reigning champion and No. 1 ranked team in the world, New York Daily News reported on Wednesday.

But it crashed out of the tournament on Wednesday, failing to get out of the group stage after a 2-0 loss to South Korea — one of the biggest upsets in soccer history.

{mosads}

Germany hasn’t been eliminated from the first round since 1938, meaning Murphy had 9-2 odds on winning his wager, the newspaper reported.

Former Gov. Chris Christie (R) appeared to troll Murphy’s bet by tweeting every time Germany was defeated in the FIFA tournament.

Great win today by Mexico in the #FIFAWorldCup over a heavily favored German team. Congrats to Coach Juan Carlos Osorio.

— Governor Christie (@GovChristie) June 17, 2018

What a fabulous win today for South Korea over an overrated German team in the World Cup. What you truly learn about when the game starts is who can really compete and who is just talk. We learned that today about both South Korea and Germany.

— Governor Christie (@GovChristie) June 28, 2018

Murphy succeeded Christie, who was left office last year at the end of his term. Murphy secured a victory in November against Christie’s lieutenant governor Kim Guadagno (R).

Murphy also placed a $20 on the New Jersey Devils hockey team winning the 2019 Stanley Cup — a reported 40-1 long shot bet.

Murphy signed a bill legalizing sports betting in the state just weeks after the Supreme Court overturned a federal ban on sports betting. 

He placed the state’s first bet earlier this month.

New Jersey is the second state to create such a law, after Delaware launched sports betting the week prior.

Today, we’re finally making the dream of legalized sports betting a reality for New Jersey. This is the right move for our state and will strengthen our economy. pic.twitter.com/Dw3AIXnFGY

— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) June 11, 2018