Unemployed man from Edinburgh wins £1 million after placing £1 stake

AN unemployed man, who won £1 million after placing a £1 bet, plans  to celebrate by taking his family out for a steak dinner.
Chloe Martin, Willian Hill.Chloe Martin, Willian Hill.
Chloe Martin, Willian Hill.

The man in his 30s, from Edinburgh, correctly predicted six numbers on the daily 49s draw to land £1 million with his £1 stake – the first ever in any of William Hill’s 246 Scottish shops.

The punter, who is presently unemployed, has been using the same numbers – 1, 7, 16, 22, 31 and 44 - on a daily basis at his local William Hill shop.

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The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, plans to buy a new house with his winnings, but before then aims to take his family out for a ‘really expensive steak dinner.’

And it comes just a couple of years after a Leith-based William Hill punter landed £682,282.14 on the horses for a £9.20 bet.

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Andrew Jamieson, 54, area manager for 59 shops in Edinburgh and Lothians, among the 246 William Hill shops in Scotland, said: ‘I’ve been in the industry for 36 years and we have never had a winner like this in a William Hill betting shop in Scotland.

‘When I started out at an independent bookmaker’s shop aged 18 the maximum payout was £5,000, so that goes to show you how times have changed.

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‘It’s great when a regular small staking punter hits the big time, but we’ve never had anything like this.

‘A couple of years ago we paid out more than £680,000 to a punter in Leith for a £9.20 bet on the horses, but this is £1 million. It’s absolutely life changing.

‘And the winner wants a fine steak dinner – he can certainly afford a few of them now.’

Andrew recalls fondly his footballer uncles John and Duncan Lambie calling regularly at his family home for his mum’s butterfly fillet steak.

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Andrew said: ‘Uncle John was a legend at Partrick Thistle and Duncan played at Dundee and St Johnstone before ending his career at Hibs and both of them, just like me, loved my mum’s butterfly fillet steak.

‘Whenever they came round we would have it, but my dad always had sausages instead. This young chap can now afford the finest steaks Edinburgh has to offer. ‘

On Andrew’s patch there are 30 William Hill shops in Edinburgh and in the Gorgie Road branch cashier Chloe Martin, 23, a psychology graduate, is a big fan of sirloin steak.

Chloe said: ‘I like my steaks from Miller & Carter, but it has to be a sirloin and rare, just like millionaire winners in Scottish betting shops.

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‘I’ve been working for William Hill for four years and the biggest payout I’ve been involved with was £14,000 to a punter who backed Donald Trump to be US President.

‘It’s great though when small stakes pay off and the punter concerned can then splash out on all the steak they fancy.’

Meanwhile, Chloe’s manager Lyndsay McGregor said: ‘It’s an absolutely fantastic result for this chap, as small stakes can result in big wins, but a steak dinner would do nothing for me as I’m vegetarian.’

William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said: “We have never had a betting shop customer win a seven figure sum in Scotland, so this is a huge milestone.

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“Edinburgh is proving a lucky place to have a bet and if you are enjoying a steak in a restaurant tonight keep an eye out for Scotland’s newest millionaire.”

In England William Hill’s first £1 million betting shop winner was back in February 2008 in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, when Fred Craggs, 59, backed eight winners in a 50p accumulator to land £1 million at odds of 2.8 million to one.

England’s first ever betting shop millionaire was Stuart Bolland, from Cadishead, Greater Manchester, who landed £1,132,657 on November 6th 2004 with a £2 line on the Scoop6 correctly predicting six winners.

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