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View Full Version : London man wins $1.97 million for a dollar


MAGICHORSEMAN
02-23-2008, 07:56 PM
Man turns $1 horse racing bet into $1.97 million

LONDON -- A bettor has won $1.97 million after placing a wager for just $1.



The man, thought to be in his late 50s or early 60s, placed the bet in bookmakers William Hill's shop in Thirsk, northern England, on Friday, predicting the winners of eight races in an accumulator wager at total odds of 2 million-to-1.

His first winner was an 8-1 chance called Isn't That Lucky, the last a 5-2 shot named A Dream Come True. The others were priced at 10-1, 15-2, 11-2 (twice), 4-1 and 7-2.

William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe told Reuters on Saturday: "When he was told what he had won he visibly blanched -- and then said he would have to go and tell his wife."

The man only learned of his good fortune when he called in at another William Hill shop in nearby Bedale to place five $1 accumulator bets on Saturday's racing.

William Hill are now waiting for him to return and claim his winnings.

Humph
02-26-2008, 05:10 AM
Fred Craggs - the winner in this instance - has been lucky in more ways than one.

The winning total of this bet was more than was paid out - Craggs received £1 million but the actual return should have been around £400,000 more) - but the payout was limited under William Hill's rules .

In fact, on account of foreign (Dubai) races being included in this particular bet, Craggs should only have received £100,000 (Hill's limit for foreign bets ),but the company chose to pay under the rules involving domestic bets only, which is set at £1mil.

A noble gesture , me thinks.