Lionel Messi |
Lionel
Messi’s dramatic late winner in Argentina’s World Cup match against
Iran on Saturday rescued one Las Vegas gambler from losing £200,000,
ESPN reports.
Messi curled in a stunning finish from outside the area in injury time to seal a 1-0 win in the Group F clash.
That strike, Messi’s second of the
tournament in Brazil, came as a relief to the Argentina fans at the
stadium Belo Horizonte who are dreaming of a third World Cup triumph for
their country, but one punter 6,000 miles away will have felt a mighty
weight lift from his shoulders for a very different reason.
An unnamed better staked $230,000 on
Argentina to beat Iran at a William Hill outlet at Las Vegas’ Tuscany
Casino. Such were the short odds of such a bet, it would only return a
profit of $20,000.
According to company spokesman Michael
Grodsky, it was the largest wager on the World Cup taken by William
Hill, but that did not stop the same customer returning on Friday to put
another £70,000 on the same outcome.
That pushed their potential winnings up
to £18,000, just shy of 10% of the amount that would be lost if Iran
upset the odds and achieved a positive result.
Carlos Queiroz’s side were just minutes
away from doing just that, as they resisted the star-studded Argentina
attack for the 90 minutes, only to succumb to four-time World Player of
the Year Messi’s strike in the first minute of injury time and see one
very relieved gambler collect their winnings.
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