Casino Cups 19 Reaction
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER insists Manchester United are ready to shake off their semi-final jinx. The Red Devils lost in three last season including a two-legged EFL Cup tie with Manchester City. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is catapulting the crypto-market to newer heights each day. All major cryptocurrencies are seeing a price appreciation in double Abigale Lormen December 12, 2020.
The race was immediately overshadowed by interference that robbed a horse at the finish....
The race was immediately overshadowed by interference that robbed a horse at the finish.
Craig Williams became one punter’s biggest hero after riding Vow And Declare to victory.Source:News Corp Australia
The Melbourne Cup’s luckiest punter has revealed he was brushed by the woman he was with moments before realising he had won nearly $800,000.
Kenny was on a date with a high school friend at Crown Casino during the Melbourne Cup races on Tuesday.
In the aftermath of the main event’s stewards inquiry — which saw Master of Reality demoted from second to fourth for impeding eventual third-place finisher Il Paradiso — Kenny wasn’t aware he had won $793,000 from a $10 bet, thinking initially he had picked the correct top four horses but in the wrong order.
But the protest — which also saw Prince of Arran bumped up from third to second — was a godsend.
Speaking to former AFL stars Garry Lyon and Tim Watson on SEN Breakfast today, Kenny explained minutes after the race that stops a nation, his date brutally told him she wasn’t interested and was eager to catch the next train home.
READ: Biggest betting wins on Cup day
“I was completely oblivious. The girl I was out with said, ‘Did you win?’ and I said, ‘Oh, I put those horses, but I don’t know, I’ll check later’,” Kenny said.
“I had another couple of drinks … and she pretty much told me, ‘Listen, I don’t really feel it. You know, this isn’t going to go anywhere. I want to get the five o’clock train’ and I said,‘Ah well, no worries, thanks for being honest’.
“I thought at least the day’s not over, I’ll open up the Sportsbet account, because there’s still a couple of races to go in the Majors. I open up the account and I suddenly started screaming.
“I’m seeing all these numbers mate and I’m like speechless, I’m gasping. I’m like, ‘Oh my effing god, oh my god’ and everyone at the restaurant is looking at me like, ‘What’s wrong with this clown?’”
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Master Of Reality rider reacts after being dropped to fourth. (AAP Image/Vince Caligiuri)Source:AAP
The Melbourne-based carpenter was not surprised by the date’s reaction when his mammoth winnings were unveiled.
“She said, ‘Sit down, what are you doing, you’re embarrassing me’ and I’ve gone, ‘Can you just look at this for me?’ and then she started screaming,” Kenny laughed.
“The five o’clock train turned into a seven o’clock train. She kept going to the bar and getting more drinks.
“I paid for lunch, I paid for all the drinks. We had a bit of a laugh about it. She was ringing her girlfriends, she was ringing her old man as well.”
Kenny admitted to gambling heavily in the past, but was adamant he would put his new-found fortune to good use.
“I’m a gambler, I always have been. My family gambles, they always have and always will. I like a punt, you know. I know you’re not going to believe this, but I’ve been one number off Lotto six times,” Kenny said.
“I went back to the Crown after the date got on the train, had a couple of drinks, took a taxi home. I haven’t spent a cent.
“I’m going to keep my job and I’m going to go back to work. I’m going to buy a house on the Gold Coast and happy days.”
Kenny will be attending Oaks Day on Thursday afternoon, no doubt hoping for a similar turn of fate.
A $10 #MelbourneCup First Four that turned into a $793,000 win? One punter's eyes were glued to the result of the protest because it meant a MONSTER payout! 👉 https://t.co/wzyYKeoAM6pic.twitter.com/7G7ljJSkRE
— Sportsbet.com.au (@sportsbetcomau) November 5, 2019Nancy Lopez stood in her kitchen and cried. It’s her birthday today, and between all the messages to celebrate her 64th year, there was an email from LPGA commissioner Mike Whan, asking her to give him a call when she woke up. The news that Whan planned to step down at some point in the 2021 season came as a surprise, if not a shock, to most LPGA players.
“I thought he might be with us for a little bit longer,” said Lopez, who genuinely had trouble sleeping at night because her concerns for the tour she loved were so great before Whan took over.
Juli Inkster didn’t see it coming, especially given that Whan signed a contract extension in late 2019. The Hall of Famer didn’t hold back her praise for what Whan has accomplished in his 11 years with the tour, the longest tenure of any LPGA commissioner.
“I think he saved the LPGA,” said Inkster. “It was in dire straits when he took over. The players, they lost their trust. No one really knew what was going on. It was all hearsay. And when Mike came in, he put that right to bed. He said, ‘Listen I’m going to be transparent; I’m going to be honest. You’ll always be the first to know.’ He stuck with that. He ran it like a business, but he also ran it with compassion. I think the LPGA was very close to folding, and he brought it back to life and now it’s thriving.”
Morgan Pressel praised Whan’s creativity and ability to think outside the box as keys to his success. His team’s initiatives included the International Crown, the Founders Cup and the season-long Race to the CME Globe. Whoever replaces Whan, she said, needs to bring a relatively similar culture to the organization.
“I say that he was handed Roman ruins and really rebuilt it from the ground up,” said Pressel of a tour that had only 24 tournaments and official prize money of $41.4 million when Whan took over.”
Dame Laura Davies, who is stuck at home in England during a third lockdown, marvels at the job Whan did to not only put together a successful 2020 campaign during a global pandemic but create a ’21 schedule that’s ripe with opportunity and record-setting purses.
“I think it’s extraordinary how good the tour looks for this year and how he managed,” said Davies. “Seems to me like all the big decisions were the correct decisions.”
In that regard, veteran Angela Stanford says Whan actually saved the LPGA twice.
Whan hasn’t set a firm date for his departure and said he doesn’t have another job lined up.
“With the pandemic still going on and sports difficult to market, this a hard hit for the LPGA Tour,” said Hall of Famer Beth Daniel in a text. “He has been a very charismatic and energetic leader for in his 11 years as commissioner. He has developed some great relationships with sponsors and that will be hard to replace. He definitely has left us better than when he arrived.”
Inkster said Whan and former commissioner Charlie Meacham, who was also extremely popular among players, had two things in common that are of paramount importance.
“They’re honest, and there’s nothing phony about them,” said Inkster. “That’s what we need in a commissioner. It’s not always going to be a bed of roses and the players have to know that. I think that’s the No. 1 thing.”
Lopez believes that Whan’s success stemmed from his ability to understand the heart of the LPGA from the start: That it’s more than a business. It’s a family.
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“He cared about our sponsors,” said Lopez, “he cared about the players.”
Inkster hopes that whoever steps in as the next commissioner will rely heavily on Whan. Pressel calls Whan the LPGA’s ultimate fan, and believes he’ll always be part of the LPGA family in some fashion.
“We’re coming out of a pandemic,” said Pressel, “well, hopefully out of a pandemic eventually, and we’re still in a great position as the largest female sports organization in the world, and the longest-running.
“We owe all of that to him.”