Major League Baseball made history this week and made one parlay bettor very, very happy.
On Tuesday, all 15 MLB home teams won their games, the first time in league history such a feat has occurred. The STATS.com boffins estimated that the odds against this happening were 32,768 to 1.
UK bookies William Hill ended up paying out £64,543 to a lucky punter from Dublin, Ireland who’d placed a £50 parlay wager on all 15 home teams to win, along with two correlated round-robin bets.
Elias Sports Bureau reported that the previous record was set way back in 1914, when 12 teams – including four playing in the now defunct Federal League – won games at home on the same day. Hills reported that that the Irish punter claimed that, had he known that he was betting on something that had never before transpired, he’d never have placed his wager. Apparently, what you don’t know really can’t hurt you.
Meanwhile, the trading team manning UK bookimaker Coral’s online betting site was breathing a sigh of relief this week after a football punter opted for a sure thing rather than push his luck. The punter in question had put £5 down on an 11-match League Cup accumulator, with 10 of the matches taking place on Tuesday.
All 10 Tuesday tilts matched the punter’s predictions, leaving him needing just Portsmouth to triumph over Derby County the following night to collect a hefty £274k payday. But the punter’s nerve failed him and he opted for Coral’s early cash-out feature, netting him £50k.
Of course, Portsmouth went on to win, leaving the punter either out £224k or up £50k, depending on whether you’re a glass half-full or half-empty sort.
