The bookies had never paid out so fastOddsmakers are often haunted by laying long odds on the wrong bet and in William Hill’s case, that is almost literally the case. The appropriately-named Nick Newlife, who died last year, saw the promise of Roger Federer long before the oddsmakers and his series of bets, which were all left to Oxfam, stand to leave the charity as much as £350,000. Read more.

Marriage made in HillAfter a 2009 it admitted as being ‘hellish’ William Hill has started to make cutbacks and one of the first victims of 2010 is Brooklyn Brothers. When the advertising agency won the business of the UK’s biggest bookmaker three months ago it thought it had landed a marriage made in heaven, but it didn’t even outlast Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock. Read more.

Party timeAfter 2009’s annus horribilis and a bad start to the new year Ladbrokes are still struggling to get up and running, with the Magic Sign’s share price falling at the end of the week. William Hill, by contrast, finished the week slightly up but it is PartyGaming who get the gold star and a sweet from teacher after their value soared past the 300 mark. Read more.

Davies: still laughingThere’s nothing like a good old-fashioned ding-dong between industry CEO’s, as Betfair’s MD Mark Davies readily admits in this blog. His spat with William Hill’s big wigs has been ongoing for years but it continued to rage in front of the Channel 4 cameras this weekend and Davies is still chortling about the false claims made by Hills’ PR director David Hood and the continued free publicity the bookmaker keeps giving them. Read more.

Grim results for LadbrokesWilliam Hill and Ladbrokes have been having a ding-dong battle to claim the higher price on the London Stock Exchange but it seems that Hills has started to leave the beleaguered Magic Sign trailing in its wake, covered in dust and spluttering to a halt. Read more.

Talk to the hand, Ashley (© Twitter)If there’s no fury like a woman scorned, what sort of anger is generated by a woman scorned twice? This is not really a question this writer has ever wanted to consider at length, but William Hill has. And their conclusion is; a lot. Which presumably is why they have already paid out on Coles Ashley and Cheryl declining their invitation to appear on Mr & Mrs in the near future and becoming the first celebrity couple to divorce this year. Read more.

Bad month at the officeLadbrokes may have had a bad month, due to horseracing being hit by the big freeze, but the damage was eased by a software problem at William Hill, who lost them almost a fifth of Oddschecker traffic in January. To check out January’s top 10 bookmakers on Oddschecker read more.

Ready to roarOne minute he was never again going to pick up a club, the next he’s going to be zooming up Magnolia Drive with one eye on his 15th Major and the other on the fire hydrants. Not that we predicted it or anything but the bookies reckon Tiger Woods will be back in time for the US Masters. Just as soon as he’s been cured of his disgusting and shameful sex affliction. Read more.

Hills has kept its VirtueIn this day and age, you never can tell. One minute you’re happily married and enjoying a fruitful and trusting relationship, the next you’ve been jetisoned in favour of a cocktail waitress. At least William Hill is still a man of Virtue, though. Well a company anyway, after agreeing to continue its current agreement with the Alderney-based bingo supplier Virtue Fusion. Read more.

Spainful episodeWilliam Hill has completed the sale of its share in the Victoria Apuestas joint venture in Spain to Codere, for €1. The UK bookmaker announced its withdrawal from the 50/50 joint venture last May, saying regulatory barriers had made expansion too difficult in the territory. Read more.