A PUNTER was as sick as a parrot when he thought he was just 17 seconds away from missing out on a jackpot of almost £800.
Tony Potts placed a £2 bet with bookie William Hill, picking 12 football games where he thought there would be a goal scored by either side after 70 minutes.
And to his delight, he picked up Sunday’s newspapers to see that all the games he selected had featured goals after that time, meaning he thought he had won a whopping £784.64.
But after going back to the Silksworth branch of William Hill where he put the bet on, staff told him Chris Dagnall’s goal for Barnsley against Hull City had been struck on 69 minutes and 43 seconds, denying Tony the cash jackpot because it was not after 70 minutes.
“I thought I’d been cheated,” said a fuming Tony, 58, of Gilley Law, who is dad to Tony, 34, Ameer, 25, and Michelle, 23.
“All of the papers said the goal was 70 minutes, but when I went to collect it they said the goal was on 69 minutes and 43 seconds, but that’s still the 70th minute surely?”
William Hill now have admitted there was a “degree of ambiguity” with the wording of the goals after 70 minutes offer and have now agreed to give Tony the winnings of the bet as a gesture of goodwill.
A spokesman said the firm will be reviewing the wording of the offer.
A delighted Tony, who has worked for K&J Catering for the past 14 years, said: “I’m over the moon.”
He says most of the money will now go towards daughter Michelle and fiancé Trevor Halliday’s wedding, which will take place in October 2014.
Twitter: @davidallison88
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