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Betting firms say some people are holding 20 pound bets on Leicester City, with reports that some may have 50-pound tickets that would pay 250,000 pounds ($365,300). Academy Award winning actor Tom Hanks last week said he had put 100 pounds on the Foxes (the payoff would be half a million pounds) but industry professionals think he was joking. No one reports hearing of a bet that large.
One person kicking himself is longtime Leicester City fan John Micklethwait, the editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, who for nearly 20 years dutifully placed a 20-pound bet on the Foxes to finish atop their league. Having moved from London to New York, he skipped the wager this year, missing out on what is expected to be the ultimate payoff.
In a rueful column , he pointed out that betting companies placed the chances of Leicester City winning the Premier League as equal to the chances of U2 front man Bono becoming pope.
Carpenter Leigh Herbert has been more fortunate in his betting.
He placed a 5-pound bet on Leicester City before the season began and has already collected part of the dough (about 5,680 pounds or $8,300) when companies started trying to cut their losses by offering partial payouts. He cashed in 2 pounds of his wager.
He stands to collect the full amount (15,000 pounds or $21,900) on the final 3 pounds of his bet.
“I’m a fan, I wanted Leicester to win the league but I didn’t in my wildest dreams think they would,” he said. “It’s been a roller-coaster. Now I’m excited, totally excited.”
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