Jefferson Macrum, better known as Covers member offensivestr, has just completed the race of his life. The native of Texas and avid sports bettor just beat over 7,300 other handicappers in a race to 200 wins, picking games against the spread and over/under in
Covers Contests’ Ultimate Race.
Those winning ways earned him the Grand Prize trip to Las Vegas. But with Macrum already setting up shop in the gambling capital, the good folks at
Covers Contests offered him the cash equivalent, estimated to be worth $5,000.
Macrum, who finished his
march to 200 wins with correct plays on Washington's 4-0 win over Florida and Over 192.5 in Indiana’s 104-99 win over Utah Tuesday, posted a record of 200-122-6 over a near four month span – winning better than 62 percent of his picks.
He credits his incredible handicapping streak to good ‘ole fashion homework, sitting down and watching as many games as possible each night, taking notes along the way.
“Just a pen and a big spiral notebook,” Macrum said in an email to
Covers.com. “I'll try to look at the layers of the matchup that lies underneath the obvious.”
During his run to 200, Macrum excelled in numerous sports, posting a 20-8 record in NFL, a 16-3-2 mark in college football, and a 47-19-1 finish in NHL action. He admits that he doesn’t have one particular strength when it comes to selecting winners.
“As soon as I say one sport is my best, I'll do better in another,” he said. “NFL and college football are strong but with the amount of NBA that is played, I would say NBA overall”.
Macrum has been a
Covers.com member for several years, relying the matchup pages and local team news when handicapping his picks. However, he had never seriously taken part in any of the contests offered by
Covers.com until this fall.
“I saw the email about the Ultimate Race and wanted to try it,” he said. “It is definitely the most grinding contest of sports handicapping I have ever seen.”
While Macrum has crossed the finish line, there are still a
ton of cash and prizes up for grabs. Heading into Wednesday, Covers member
ciarajo is in second place with a record of 194-132-6 and
pamboo is close behind at 193-135-4, battling for $1,000 and $500.
The top 25 finishers all receive prizes, so don’t stop capping until you reach 200.
Good luck to all the remaining racers and congrats to offensivestr!