The Gambler

<< Iron Man: only marginally slower than his equine namesake, and better at jumping

It's Grand National Day, which as we all know is a fine excuse for some reckless gambling. Here at Knowledge Towers we cleared out the savings and put £10 on six different horses. Yeah, we like to hedge our bets, but we managed to pick the winner, second place and fourth, so it paid off. Admittedly, my 100-1 shot and Foinavon for the Millennium, Iron Man, ran into the second fence while all the others carried on - a sort of reverse Foinavon, then.

We could have had a clean sweep had Claire's pick, Mr Pointment, not given up the ghost from a winning position. I guess that's what you get for picking a pun to win the Grand National. Anyway, I was pleased to pick the top two, but slightly dejected to only win about £12. It got me thinking - how much money can you really make from gambling? There may have been reports of footballers getting sent off deliberately to appease bookmakers that have their balls in a juicer to the tune of £50,000, but try telling this Midwest couple that gambling doesn't pay:

Leslie Robbins and Colleen de Vries from Wisconsin won $111,240,463.10 in the US Powerball Lottery, the largest single sum ever won through gambling.

It makes a mockery of my ability to buy M&Ms instead of Somerfield chocolate thanks to Comply Or Die's victory, but for those tempted to lay a little more on the line in the name of gambling, a cautionary tale that proves there's no such thing as a dead cert. Anyway, I'd better go, the Gaelic football season's started and Paddy Power are offering 6-4 on Cork to beat County Monaghan. It's a steal I tell ya, Cork are due. Hand me that credit card...

P.S. While we're on the Grand National, have a look at this clip from the farcical 1993 race, which was declared null and void. I remember being 10 years old and a guy in a shop telling me that it had been cancelled, and thinking to myself what a truly rotten attempt at a fib it was. But it was true, much to the horror of the winning jockey. Fast forward to the end - he crosses the line in first, fist clenched in triumph, only to be told by his competitors that the race has been chalked off. He pulls off his goggles, wipes away a tear and utters the only word that comes to mind...