Man won $725K with Seattle win

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Watching replacement officials botch the end of the infamous Packers-Seahawks Monday night game two weeks ago might have been torturous for Green Bay fans, but it was glorious for a Canadian man, who won nearly three quarter of a million dollars thanks to the result.

Gino DiFelice, who lives in Ontario, won $725,274 on a $5 wager when the Seahawks won, giving him a perfect 15-for-15 ledger on his sports betting ticket. Canadian citizens are allowed to bet on sports events in wagers run by Canada's provincial governments.

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AP Photo/Stephen BrashearThe Packers' M.D. Jennings appears to have possession of the ball Russell Wilson threw at the end of Monday night's game, but Golden Tate was credited for a touchdown after also grabbing the ball on his way to the turf.

The Seahawks, of course, won the game when Golden Tate was ruled to have caught a Hail Mary touchdown pass, even though replays seemed to show that the Packers' M.D. Jennings had full possession of the ball before Tate got his hands on it. The ending of the game might have helped to end the lockout of the NFL's regular officials because of the uproar that followed.

Making his win even more improbable, DiFelice told reporters that his winning ticket was made out with the help of his 12-year-old daughter, Mia. He said he regularly submits three tickets, one with games he picks, one with the help of his daughter and another with the aid of his 10-year-old son, Marco.

"The winner was the ticket my daughter consulted me on. The funniest part is, the ticket I made all of the picks myself, I only got four right," he said, according to the QMI press agency of Canada.

His winnings are the third-highest ever awarded in the Pro-Line game. If the Packers had won the game, he would have had to split the winnings with five other people.

DiFelice, knowing he had all 14 picks right on the ticket after Sunday's games, said he was too nervous to watch most of the game.

"I watched the last 1:48 and that's about it," he said, according to QMI Agency, adding that he watched the game with his wife and nephew. "I couldn't watch the rest of the game. I had the ticket sealed in an envelope and nobody knew until after the game until I told them."

He said after the game was over, he excitedly ripped open the envelope, presumably very carefully to avoid tearing his ticket.

"When the play was under review I couldn't believe what was happening. When the call was made, I went nuts. I ripped open the envelope to show them. They couldn't believe it."

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