Tiger Woods’ Masters win earns one lucky gambler US$1.2 million as US bookmakers are crushed
- One person in Las Vegas bet US$85,000 on Woods at 14-1 odds
- Woods is now 8-1 to win the PGA Championship in May
The unidentified bettor took advantage of 14-1 odds, posted on Tuesday at William Hill’s outlet in Las Vegas, on Woods winning his fifth green jacket this year. Having never before placed a wager with the firm, the prescient person put US$85,000 down with those odds, making for a “pretty good first bet,” as William Hill’s Nick Bogdanovich told ESPN.
The director of trading for the United Kingdom-based company’s US operations, Bogdanovich told USA Today that the sportsbook took an overall loss of “seven figures” on Woods’ win, his first at the Masters since 2005 and first major of any kind since 2008.
“We got our tails kicked,” Bogdanovich said. “That’s just business. A guy drops money on the counter, we accept the wager, we pay and then we move on. Does it sting? Sure it stings, but it’s just part of the business.
“Tiger is Tiger. He’s the greatest golfer I’ve ever seen. Hopefully, we will get some new golf bettors out of it.”