A lucky punter placed a bet that turned £1 into £170,000 – a week after setting up his first bookmaker’s account.
The 33-year-old Cambridgeshire man placed the £1 10-team accumulator bet on Saturday morning before going out with his family for the day.
“It wasn’t until I got back home from the park that I checked my account and saw how much I had won,” he said.
The precise amount was £169,923.
Although he had placed the occasional Grand National bet in the past, the man set up his first football betting account on February 7.
The bet that won the thousands was only his eighth bet on the account, which was created for some fun and to help save money for his son’s future.
“My partner and I had a son five months ago and last week we set up a William Hill account and deposited £20,” said the punter, who declined to be named.
“The intention was to place two £1 bets every so often on the football and any winnings would go into a savings account for him.
“We have only placed eight bets. We will certainly be giving him a large chunk towards his future but we also plan to buy a house with some of the winnings as well.”
The man bet on 10 League One outsiders, including Leyton Orient, whose 101st minute winner by Dean Cox secured the amazing win.
The probability of the man’s win was 1 in 169,923. (it wasn't, it was larger)
Prof Geoffrey Grimmett, a Cambridge University mathematician who studies probability, explained how unlikely an event this is.
“If you placed such a bet every day, you would expect to win once in almost 500 years,” he said.
“This is an event of a half-millennium."
The staggering odds are the second biggest in William Hill’s history.
A spokesman for the bookmaker said: “A few years ago, we had a Maltese punter who turned €1 into over €500,000 and this guy, with his incredible win, has moved into second place on our list of biggest ever football winners.”
The man bet on 10 League One outsiders, including Leyton Orient, whose 101st minute winner by Dean Cox secured the amazing win.
Chesterfield 2-3 Leyton Orient
Who was manager of Leyton Orient at the time, Alex Ferguson?
The man bet on 10 League One outsiders, including Leyton Orient, whose 101st minute winner by Dean Cox secured the amazing win.Chesterfield 2-3 Leyton OrientWho was manager of Leyton Orient at the time, Alex Ferguson?