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The following is a press release from William Hill regarding the fact that Leicester City are on the verge of winning the 2015/16 English Premier League having started the season at 5,001 odds. What I'd give to own a time machine!
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Bookmaker William Hill are now quoting Leicester City at $1.03 to win the Premier League, having been $5001 (0.02% chance of happening) at the start of the season. Despite this, 25 hardy souls (24 men and one woman) backed the Foxes to win the title at this price. 40% of all the wagers placed at $5001 have now been cashed out, however $67 remains - which will pay out $366,612 to those who have been brave enough to see their bet through to the bitter end.
One such punter who took advantage of the $5001 odds is 39-year-old Leigh Herbert, who as a teenager, used to work at Leicester’s Filbert Street ground. He wagered $10 upon the appointment of Claudio Ranieri as the Foxes manager. While his confidence waned as the season wore on (he partially cashed out $4 worth of his wager for $10,488) he still stands to scoop around $28,000 if the Premier League trophy is lifted by Wes Morgan.
Of his cash out, Leigh said at the start of April “I am a big Leicester fan and I strongly believe they will go on to win the Premier League. But my fiancée has made me acknowledge that sometimes you have to make decisions with both your head and your heart. I still have a decent chunk on Leicester and will be watching this go down to the wire.”
William Hill’s largest individual payout will be to Guildford’s (UK) gutsiest punter, who wagered $140 at $1501 when the season was just a few weeks old. He has not cashed out and so stands to win over $215,000. The total returns for wagers placed at $1501 is over $1,430,000.
Globally, William Hill have taken over $725,000 on Leicester and following $692,500 worth of cash outs the final payout when/should Leicester lift the trophy currently stands at over $5,780,000. The loss to the bookmaking industry stands at around $20m – unsurprisingly the biggest in Premier League history.
“We stand to lose a small fortune if Leicester do what everybody must now be expecting them to do,” said a William Hill spokesperson. “$5001 is the biggest priced winner in betting history!”
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Bookmaker William Hill are now quoting Leicester City at $1.03 to win the Premier League, having been $5001 (0.02% chance of happening) at the start of the season. Despite this, 25 hardy souls (24 men and one woman) backed the Foxes to win the title at this price. 40% of all the wagers placed at $5001 have now been cashed out, however $67 remains - which will pay out $366,612 to those who have been brave enough to see their bet through to the bitter end.
One such punter who took advantage of the $5001 odds is 39-year-old Leigh Herbert, who as a teenager, used to work at Leicester’s Filbert Street ground. He wagered $10 upon the appointment of Claudio Ranieri as the Foxes manager. While his confidence waned as the season wore on (he partially cashed out $4 worth of his wager for $10,488) he still stands to scoop around $28,000 if the Premier League trophy is lifted by Wes Morgan.
Of his cash out, Leigh said at the start of April “I am a big Leicester fan and I strongly believe they will go on to win the Premier League. But my fiancée has made me acknowledge that sometimes you have to make decisions with both your head and your heart. I still have a decent chunk on Leicester and will be watching this go down to the wire.”
William Hill’s largest individual payout will be to Guildford’s (UK) gutsiest punter, who wagered $140 at $1501 when the season was just a few weeks old. He has not cashed out and so stands to win over $215,000. The total returns for wagers placed at $1501 is over $1,430,000.
Globally, William Hill have taken over $725,000 on Leicester and following $692,500 worth of cash outs the final payout when/should Leicester lift the trophy currently stands at over $5,780,000. The loss to the bookmaking industry stands at around $20m – unsurprisingly the biggest in Premier League history.
“We stand to lose a small fortune if Leicester do what everybody must now be expecting them to do,” said a William Hill spokesperson. “$5001 is the biggest priced winner in betting history!”