I Didn’t Know The NY Kid Was A Gambling Man

Study These Well Before Making Your Bets..

Let’s face it, these kinds of stories come around every four years. They’re bread-and-butter to the journo: the wild, outrageous betting story. Oooh, look… someone put $20,000 on some weird exacta that’ll make them a millionaire.

Po-faced moron stakes his life savings on Birmingham City to win the EPL, dizzy as they feel at the thought of raking in the winnings. Some get tattoos guaranteeing the Champions League, and others spend time at the bookies.

Everyone’s got their foibles, and it looks like this year’s champ is a brave man with money to burn on Les Bleus. Surely our very own NYK is the only man who would dare make such a bet, laying down major money on Raymond Domenech and co. to bring the trophy back to Paris.

From the article: ‘A southern based William Hill telephone client has staked a bet of £55,000 each-way on France to win the World Cup at odds of 20/1 – and will make a profit of £1,650,000 if they do so – the biggest ever World Cup winnings’ said Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe.”

They only need to win seven games, and 20/1 is worth a flier, but heck, that’s some big money to slap down. Did this gambler consult the star charts first and see something special?

What makes this story even more hilarious are the prop bets listed towards the end of the piece.

“BUT Hills are also taking slightly smaller, but perhaps more original bets as well – TWO of their customers have backed children called Bobby Moore to captain England in the future. Proud grandfather John Moore, from Great Yarmouth will win £100,000 if his grandson Bobby, born in November, 2003, captains England after staking £20 at 5000/1. And a second Bobby Moore – this one as yet UNBORN! – will win his proud father-to-be, £82,500 if he grows up to play for West Ham and wins the World Cup with England. Daniel Moore from Stanstead Abbotts has staked four £5 bets that his son will play for West Ham (500/1); play for England (1000/1); skipper England (5000/1) and win the World Cup with England (10,000/1).”

Are you kidding me? First off, how do you get odds for such a thing? Will either of these proud, gushing granddads even be alive in 20+ years to collect on any possible payout?

We salute all these guys for keeping the bookmakers well and truly in business. I enjoy a gamble now and then on the EPL, but I’d never look to drop that much cash at a World Cup, unless I could get good odds on England losing…