A RACING punter who had just won £882,794 shunned a fancy celebratory meal in favour of cabbage rolls and tinned beans.
The bettor from Kentucky, US, admitted his absolutely colossal payout was down to ‘dumb luck’.
But rather than celebrate by taking his wife for a meal at a posh restaurant, he ‘feasted on cabbage rolls, canned beans and canned turnip greens’.
No wonder she told him: “Maybe we should have done something different.”
The punter was sitting in his office last Friday afternoon when he decided to try his chances on the runners at Gulfstream Park in Florida.
He placed a Pick 6 bet – like the jackpot on the Tote here, where you aim to find the winners in six designated races.
A big bettor anyway, he staked just under £800 on his selections, more than double what he normally would.
Despite the hefty outlay, the bettor, who asked to remain anonymous, actually forgot he had placed the bet.
And it wasn’t until he popped home later that day that he saw how well he was doing.
He told paulickreport.com: “I had to go out and run a few errands and then head home. We were going to a friend’s house down the street for dinner at six o’clock and when I got home I wanted to get in a workout before we left.
“At that point, I’d forgotten about the ticket. I came upstairs to get something off the computer and that jogged my memory.
“I thought, ‘let me check on that Pick 6 and see where I am’.
“I looked at the seventh race, the third leg, where I had five horses, and said, ‘wow, I caught the eight at big odds’.
“Bahamian Rhapsody won the race and paid $25 (24-1).
‘HOW CRAZY WOULD THIS BE?’
“The next leg I’ve got all nine starters so I’m hoping for a longshot. Sure enough Family Time went off at 14-1 and won wire to wire.”
His fourth and fifth picks won before it came down to the last – where he was the only one remaining who had picked 30-1 outsider Canelo.
The punter continued: “I’m thinking, ‘what if the three wins? How crazy would that be?’
“It was Canelo’s second start and first time on turf and around two turns. I checked to see if anyone likes the horse, but his odds were actually going up as we got closer to the race.
“I still had about ten minutes and I wanted to get a workout in before we left for dinner.
“So I went downstairs and watched the race on my phone while I’m working out.
“When the three got a nice break from the starting gate, gets over to the rail and gets an easy lead, I’m like, ‘that’s cool. At least there’s that’.
“Corey Lanerie is riding the horse, and he’s controlling the pace all the way around.
“But on the final turn as they’re getting ready to hit the stretch, I see the No 2 horse – the 6-5 favourite – making a move.
‘I JUST WON A MILLION DOLLARS’
“My first thought was, ‘thank goodness I have the two on my ticket’. If the two wins I get $6,077 (£4,474).
“But the three horse keeps going, and I’m screaming ‘go three! Go three! Go three!’
“My wife and daughter heard the commotion and ran downstairs wondering what in the world is going on.
“The race had just ended, with Canelo well in front, and I said, ‘I think I just won over a million dollars’.
“Our celebration Friday night was pretty modest. A pot-luck dinner with our friends and their kids had already been planned, and we feasted on cabbage rolls, canned beans and canned turnip greens.
“My wife thought maybe we should have done something different, but it was fun.”
Asked how he will spend the cash, the punter, who follows this Brit in bashing the bookies, said: “I haven’t figured that out yet, but my wife has some ideas.”
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Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chases their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
- Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org
