Out for $20,000 - a punter's nightmare By Trevor Marshallsea March 14, 2006 AdvertisementAdvertisement IT WAS money for old rope, fruit for the sideboard, or, as punters have been saying since gambling was invented, an absolute certainty. Or so a few cashed-up cricket followers believed. After Australia posted a world record 4-434 in their one-day match in South Africa late on Sunday night, Sydney time, most Australian fans went to bed, content victory was secure. But a few went chasing easy money. The odds weren't flash, but there was no way Australia could lose, was there? There was. Unbelievably, South Africa won by reaching 438 off the second-last ball, with only one wicket to spare. Most cricket fans will have been stunned to hear the result upon waking up. But a few in particular will have gone into shock. In between innings, two Australian punters put $20,000 on the World Cup holders to win at odds of $1.01 with Centrebet - standing to win just $200 each. Another got on with Sportsbook.com.au at the more generous $1.06, betting $16,000 to win $960. Instead, the three cocky gamblers lost the lot. "I almost didn't bother putting the odds up between innings," said Centrebet's Gerard Daffy. "I didn't think anyone would be interested. It just goes to show again, there's no such thing as a certainty. It's what keeps bookmakers in business." It was perhaps the game's biggest shock since England beat Australia in the Headingley Test of 1981, when Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh famously backed their rivals midway through the match, having noticed they were at a juicy 500-1. There were no such odds about South Africa at the halfway stage, only $26. Not surprisingly, Centrebet did not take a single bet on them. http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/a-punters-nightmare/2006/03/13/1142098402548.html OUCH!
If anyone should know that no lead is safe, it would be Houston (Oiler) fans. There's no such thing as a "sure thing". Or, as one of my favorite movie lines once said: "On the day when I left home to make my way in the world, my daddy took me to one side. "Son," my daddy says to me, "I am sorry I am not able to bankroll you to a large start, but not having the necessary lettuce to get you rolling, instead I'm going to stake you to some very valuable advice. One of these days in your travels, a guy is going to show you a brand-new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken. Then this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of this brand-new deck of cards and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, do not accept this bet, because as sure as you stand there, you're going to wind up with an ear full of cider."
Man, that was supposed to be erased from my memory If they were taking bets on the second half money line, I bet you would have had to put a crazy amount down on the Oilers to win 100 bucks, probably close to the odds of this cricket match
