All Bets 365

10 Bets That People Didn’t Think Would Work, but Did

Adrenaline charged casino games test a gambler’s nerve, skill and endurance to the limit, factors which are crucial if you want to be successful in the world of betting.

While most casino games are unlikely to be as exciting as the events which unfolded in 2006 James Bond hit Casino Royale, there is nothing quite like the thrill of a bet.

The more successful gamblers tend to be those who are prepared to take mammoth risks for maximum rewards; and the return on bets with extremely long odds can lead to some mind-boggling sums of money being won on the back of some exceptionally unlikely events.

Below are some of the craziest bets to have been won in recent years, by gamblers willing to back some bets others would have not thought possible.

10. After having a dream about gold, landscape gardener Harry Gall scoured the racing pages for horses with the word ‘gold’ in their names. Gall’s £1 each-way bet on four horses earned him £1,890 having previously won money after dreaming about horses.

9. 61-year-old Steve Whiteley won an astonishing £2.5 million after picking all six winners at an Exeter meeting after a £2 bet.

8. The father of current Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Chris Kirkland was so confident of his son’s ability between the sticks that he wagered £100 at 100-1 that his son would win an England cap before he turned 30. Kirkland senior was able to collect his winnings in 2006 when the goalkeeper made his international bow in a friendly against Greece.

7. Earlier this year, one golfing expert correctly predicted the each-way winner of the China Open, at 50-1, and the Heritage Classic, at 33-1, both won by rank outsiders not given a chance by many leading experts. To pick one of these winners was sensational, but to pick both and tie them up in one combined bet is simply unbelievable.

6. A mystery pensioner who scraped together £3.50 in loose change in 2005 backed five winners (No Overtime, Eccentric, Banknote, Gone Fishing and Orcadian) at his local Ladbrokes. Paying in 20p, 5p and 2p coins, the 65-year-old watched in amazement as he scooped a jackpot win of £33,868.58.

5. According to one tabloid newspaper one anonymous forecaster ‘demolished the psychic feats of World Cup predicting “Paul the Octopus”’ after becoming Ladbrokes’ first betting shop millionaire. The lucky punter correctly guessed six numbers in a lotto game of 49s, at the odds of 3,655,588-1.

4. In 2005, horse racing enthusiast Chris Hertzog managed to predict the top four standings in one race and stood to win over £500,000, before losing his ticket. Fortunately the winning ticket was eventually found and claimed by one extremely happy owner.

3. Ladbrokes revealed their highest ever payout on a multiple bet placed online for a £2.50 bet in January 2011. The mystery backer achieved one the hardest feats in the industry by correctly predicting the result of nine football matches to win the life-changing sum of money.

2. Eight lucky members of a horse racing syndicate in Berkshire pocketed a whopping jackpot rollover of £3.5 million after picking six winners from televised races, leaving each player with winnings topping the £400,000 mark.

1. In 2004, London gambler Ashley Revell sold his home, car and possessions before flying out to Las Vegas and placing the sum of everything he owned, £76,840, on the spin of a roulette wheel.

Luckily for Mr Revell, he correctly predicted the ball would land on the right colour and he managed to double his money when red seven came in to a huge cheer from the assembled audience and television crews.

So, if you are feeling lucky it could well be time to take a hammer to the piggy bank.