Some of the most significant wagers in the history of sports betting (e.g. on 먹튀검증), took a decade to pay off. A Texas businessman relied on a $13 million bet to finance a business promotion. Professional athletes have made as much as sports bettors as they did during their competing days. A tennis fan in England won $155,000 postmortem.
Betting on Family
In 2004 professional golfer Rory McIlroy was 15 years old. That year, McIlroy’s father Gerry wagered 200 British pounds that his son would be an Open Champion. In 2014 Rory won the Open Championship making his dad approximately USD 130,000 prouder.
The odds against little Harry Wilson becoming a soccer star were 2,500/1. The odds didn’t stop Harry’s grandfather Peter Edwards from betting his grandson would one day represent the family’s native Wales on the soccer pitch. By age 16, Harry was a rising soccer star. The 50-pound wager that his grandfather had placed a little over a decade earlier yielded USD 160,000.
Betting on Someone Else to Win
Pro-golfer Phil Mickelson is a true believer in the Baltimore Ravens. The 2000 NFL season had not seen its first kick-off when Mickelson contributed to a $20,000 bet on the Ravens winning the Super Bowl. Mickelson was part of a gambling syndicate that netted over half-a-million dollars from wagering on Baltimore.
NBA legend Charles Barkley’s love of gambling has been requited and unrequited. In 2002, Barkley was among the few who foresaw the Pats beating the Rams in the Super Bowl. By backing New England, Sir Charles realized a $300,000 profit on a $500,000 bet. A bet that the Falcons would win the NFL championship cost Barkley $100,000.
Boxer Floyd Mayweather has placed sports bets exceeding $1 million. A $5.9 million wager Mayweather purportedly made on game seven of the 2013 NBA championship may be an urban legend. If the story is true, Mayweather won his bet. How much he may have won remains a mystery.
The Last Wager
Nicholas Newlife would have to wait for 10-years to see if a 1,500-pound bet on Roger Federer winning seven Wimbledon titles would payoff. Sadly by the time, Federer claimed his seventh title Nicholas Newlife had passed. Thanks to a provision in Newlife’s will his $155,000 in winnings will feed 10,000 impoverished families.