Leicester City Closing In On 5,000-1 Winning Season

Leicester City are currently experiencing one of the most unexpected and exciting runs in the history of Premier League Football, with the long shot team moving ever closer to becoming this year’s champions. At the beginning of the soccer season, no one could have predicted that a 5,000 to 1 rank outsider would be leading the table by five points with just seven games left to play, as well as being an impressive eleven points ahead of a third placed Arsenal.
That is no one, except for a handful of loyal Leicester supporters who all now stand to win tens of thousands of pounds from just a few quid bet at the start of the season. James Weller, for instance, stands to receive a £50,000 prize from the £10 wager he placed on Leicester, and he is just one of at least 20 punters who have thus far refused to accept a reduced early payout from concerned bookies.
While James Weller turned down a recent offer of £25,000 from his bookmaker, others have decided that discretion is the better part of valour, and have opted to save themselves from a potential devastating blow as the season draws to a close. One such example is provided by an unidentified gambler who had put a £20 bet on Leicester City at odds of 2,500/1, but has now settled with the bookies for £29,788 in winnings, instead of a potential £66,607 windfall. As a William Hill member of staff in Leicester explains:
“The punter has been in and out of the shop for the last three or four weeks seeing what his cash-out value would be and finally on Monday he came in and told us that after discussions with his wife, he had to cash in for £29,788.”
John Pryke is another punter who found waiting around until the end of the season too painful, and so cashed in a £20 bet for £29,000, instead of the £100,000 he stood to win. Then there’s an unamed man who settled for £72,335, rather than a potential quarter of a million pounds payout had his team won. Commenting on the incredible season, Alex Donohue from Ladbrokes said:
“Around half of the 5000-1 backers have cashed in their chips, while the rest hold their nerve. Record sums have already been paid out on a bet yet to be a winner and for many fans the lure of a life-changing sum of money is too much with several difficult games still to go.”