Chicago White Sox: First ever Illinois legal sports bet

The Chicago White Sox are going to have a good season if everyone plays to their potential. There are some people out there who also feel the same.

Legal sports betting is officially underway in our great state of Illinois. The law was passed in 2019 but just got into play today. Rivers Casino had NBC Sports color commentator and former Chicago Blackhawks forward Ed Olczyk made the first-ever legal bet in Illinois history. He picked the Chicago White Sox to win the American League Pennant at 16-1 odds.

Olczyk is Illinois’ all-time leading scorer in NHL history so you figured that his first-ever bet would be something with a bit of a local flavor. It is well known that Olczyk is a Chicago Cubs fan first so seeing him make the first bet on the White Sox is a good feeling. That shows that everyone believes that this team is on the right track. Hopefully, the White Sox are able to help him cash a nice check this October. Olczyk plans to donate any winnings to research to colon cancer as he is a survivor of the disease.

So why might it actually be a bet that pays off? It is no guarantee that the White Sox win the division let alone the pennant but they certainly have a chance. They need their new additions to help them improve by a lot but it is definitely possible. The Minnesota Twins are the biggest threat to the White Sox in 2020 and the Cleveland Indians still have a few impact players that can make things interesting. The Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers are both going to be pretty bad but all three teams are going to likely feed on them.

With the additions they have made, they have what it takes to win the division. At 16-1 odds, and Olczyk happed to wear number 16, the White Sox have great value to win the Division. It will definitely be cool to keep that in the back of your mind as the season goes along. Hopefully, the White Sox are able to reward all of those who have faith in them.