ST. LOUIS (KMOX) -  It was late August, only about a month left in the regular season, and things were looking bleak for the St. Louis Cardinals and their fans.

The Redbirds were a speck on the horizon, more than 10 games out of the National League Wild Card chase and well behind the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

“The Cardinals at one point had less than a one-percent chance to even make the playoffs,” notes Travis Reed, operations manager for Maryland-based Sports Insights.

It was at that moment, Reed says, that one risk-taker somewhere laid down a $50 bet that the Cards would make it — somehow — to the 2011 World Series.

That risk-taker is now a happy, happy man.

“He’s already won $25,000 off that bet,” Reed says.

• Click below to listen to the full interview with Travis Reed.

As overjoyed as members of Cardinal Nation have been with this unlikely, Hollywood-script of a story, there are plenty of hard-core gamblers out there who are NOT pleased in the least, Reed says, and wish Cinderella would just go away.

“There’s a lot of sports-books out there rooting against St. Louis because they were such a huge underdog,” Reed says.

Even now, the non-believers are contacting their Vegas bookies as the Cardinals prepare to face the Texas Rangers in Game 1 of the World Series Wednesday night.

“Bettors quickly jumped on Texas and (the Rangers) are now at a minus-150 favorite to win the Series,” Reed points out, “meaning you’re going to have to lay down one-hundred-fifty dollars to win a hundred if you’re betting on Texas.”

Right now those betting $100 on the Cardinals to bring home their 11th World Championship would win $125 dollars.

The Comeback Cards of 2011 hope to leave a lot more disgruntled gamblers in their wake.

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