There is a good day at the races and then there’s this. A Portsmouth-based punter hit the acca of his life over the weekend, winning close to £1million from a £4 stake.
The Aston Villa fan, 45, put his spare change on 12 EFL matches all having over 11.5 corners, a bet that had odds of 249,346/1 on Betfair when placed.
Incredibly the bet landed – and the £997,385 winner is planning to treat his family and betting pals with his newfound wealth.
‘It was emotional, I felt little bit sick at first making sure it was real, and then obviously the reality kicked in,’ he said.
‘My wife was out at the time when I checked, I needed her to come back to clarify the amount that was in there, I kept asking her “this is right isn’t it?” It didn’t seem real, it’s hard to put into words.
‘I didn’t sleep much last night, thinking about what we can do with the money. It’s a really good feeling, it’s brilliant!’
A Portsmouth punter has become a millionaire after his 12 game acca paid out (pictured: Jimmy Dunne scoring from a corner for QPR against Swansea on Saturday)
At half-time on Saturday afternoon the bet looked to be a foolish investment with just one corner between Reading and Barnsley and four between Cambridge and Plymouth.
In the second half, however, the tides shifted and the set-pieces arrived in serious numbers, with Oxford v Bradford having 14 corners between them despite the game finishing goalless.
‘Me and my friends usually do an accumulator on the weekend for a bit of fun, we all pick a leg and put them in our group chat, both teams to score usually, and I like to do corners,’ he explained.
‘I had £4 in my account, so I decided to do one of my own with a few more corners in. I’m sure that I’ll be treating my mates after winning this one. It will be my round all the time!’
The punter didn’t even find out his acca had made him a millionaire until the evening, saying that: ‘I didn’t actually realise it had come in until about half an hour after all the games had finished.
‘I’m an Aston Villa fan and was out with my son watching the early kick-off, which started the day really well! Then we walked back home and got soaked with the weather, and when I checked my account I couldn’t believe it.’
The jubilant football fan has humble plans for his £1million prize, hoping to pay off his mortgage, buy a car and book a week in the sun with the family, as well as going to watch more games at Villa Park with his son.
Betfair spokesman Sam Rosbottom said: ‘We are absolutely delighted for this Portsmouth punter and couldn’t be happier to pay out such a large sum of money.’
