Bet Placed On Federer Nine Years Ago Nets Charity £100,000
The international charity Oxfam won £100,000 yesterday thanks to a gambler who predicted Roger Federer's record-tying Wimbledon run all the way back in 2003. According to The Daily Mail, nine years ago a bettor named Nick Newlife wagered £1,520 — at 66-to-1 odds — that Federer would win seven Wimbledon championships before the year 2019. Newlife died in 2009, but bequeathed the unfinished betting slip to the poverty-relief charity Oxfam along with all his other possessions. When Federer beat British hero Andy Murray on Sunday to complete his seventh championship at the All-England Club, the bet finally paid off. Oxfam will now collect the £101,840 prize, which around $158,000.
RELATED: Roger Federer Keeps Rolling; A Death on the Horse Track
Newlife is described as a "recluse" who had no family and asked friends to place long-term bets with bookies on his behalf. To give you a reminder of what bold prediction this tennis call was, back in 2003 only one man, Pete Sampras, had ever won seven Wimbledon titles and the then-21-year-old Federer had yet to win his first major. Since then he's won 17 of them, the most of any male player ever. He's now 7-1 in Wimbledon finals.
