Rory McIlroy’s British Open win paid off a big bet for their father.
Rory McIlroy’s win on the weekend at the 2014 Open Championship (perhaps better called the British Open) was huge for the young golfer’s career. It was their 3rd major championship, making him just the third player to win three majors by the age of 25, joining a couple of guys you might have heard about: Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
But the win may even have been bigger for McIlroy’s father and a couple of their buddies.
When McIlroy putted down on the 18th green at Hoylake, he fulfilled a bet that had been made by his father Gerry and two friends over a decade ago. In 2004, Gerry McIlroy placed a bet on their son, then 15 years old, to win the British Open by the time he had been 25 (or put another way, before he switched 26).
Ladbrokes was very happy to take the £200 ($341) bet, and even gave the elder McIlroy 500-1 odds. After all, as talented as young Rory may be, he was a long way of from being capable of winning among the planet’s golf tournaments that are biggest.
McIlroy Covers Bet on Final Opportunity
But a funny thing occurred throughout the decade that is next. McIlroy didn’t just turn into a professional golfer, but he became probably the player that is best of his generation. Soon he was a perennial hazard to win the Open, and those 500-1 were looking extremely generous. Still, heading into last week’s tournament, McIlroy just had usually the one last opportunity to win and earn his father a massive payday.
Sure enough, it was done by him, and Ladbrokes confirmed on Twitter that they’d be paying out the £100,000 ($171,000) win to a bettor they thought to be Rory’s daddy.
Family Bets Typical
According to Rachel Bridge of Ladbrokes, these bets aren’t exactly rare, though it’s unusual that they pay off. Bridge told ESPN.com why these ‘special odds requests’ are generally made on the possibility of children to win major events that are sporting with the firm taking more than 300 each year. Typically, just one will probably pay out every few years. The last big win of the kind came when friends of racer Lewis Hamilton won a bet they made when he was just nine years old on him winning the F1 championship, a wager.
‘the chance is taken by us on bets like these,’ Bridge believed to ESPN. ‘ We could make a lot of cash, but it’s a big risk if one comes through. Unfortuitously, with this one, we have egg on our face.’
Friends Also Money In
Rory’s father wasn’t the only real one cashing in on the bet, either. Two other bettors ( considered to be friends of McIlroy’s dad) won two split wagers: the one that would pay out at 250-1 if McIlroy won The Open Championship by 2015, and another that would pay out 150-1 should he win the same tournament by age 50.
According to McIlroy, the win will likely mean more to the friends than to his father.
‘I do not think it matters therefore much to my dad anymore, nevertheless the teammates he achieved it with, lightning link slot russian cheats I do believe they truly are a little happier,’ McIlroy stated.
Based on Bridge, Ladbrokes hasn’t faced a payout on the Open since bettors made money that is big on Tiger Woods in 2006.
‘Although we are facing heavy losses we can’t assist but appreciate the foresight of Rory’s dad and his pals about ten years ago,’ Bridge said.
Harvard Researchers Say Gambling Online Not Addictive
Bellagio’s real-life fountains offer a playground feel, which researchers say encourages gambling. (Image: kathika.com)
Into the battles being waged over whether online gambling should be controlled in the usa, one major argument has been that Web games could result in a higher level of gambling addiction. The idea is that the increased access to gambling services and products means that people most vulnerable to addiction will have an instant pipeline that allows them to spend money they can’t pay for to reduce.
It’s something that seems to sound right on an intuitive level, however the information that’s being collected therefore far isn’t backing it up. A few studies from the Harvard Medical School’s Division on Addiction has discovered that the majority that is vast of gamblers aren’t addicts, and are, in reality, extremely casual gamblers who are quite good at environment limits for themselves.
Studies Conducted with bwin
The studies were done with the cooperation of bwin, which gave researchers use of data on thousands of players whom continued various online casino games over a period that is two-year. The research included sports betting, poker, and general casino gambling. And in each case, 95 percent or more of the gamblers studied gambled in moderation, while only one to five percent had been said showing ‘intense gambling behavior.’
Within the situation for the casino gambling research, a lot more than 4,000 case studies had been analyzed. The average player gambled only once every two weeks, losing about 5.5 percent of the money they wagered over a nine-month period. Whenever it came to sports bettors, another study looked over 40,000 players, and found that the median gambler was making 2.5 bets every day that is fourth with the wagers averaging $5.50.
Another study by the University of Hamburg, made to help augment the work being done at Harvard, looked solely at poker players. More than two million online poker players were analyzed during the period of six months. The median player was at the tables for just 4.88 hours over that duration, and nearly all players were paying less than a dollar per hour in rake.
Typical Gambler Spends Little Online
None of this is designed to say that compulsive gambling isn’t a nagging problem, or that issue gambling does not exist on the web. But it will declare that the degree to that the Internet exacerbates problems that are such been exaggerated. Part of the reason for this may sleep in how the data is presented: researchers used medians to show what the ‘typical’ gambler looked like, largely just because a percentage that is small of’ gamblers significantly affect the common figures.
That research backs up numbers that are previous have come out of surveys, such as one conducted in 2007 by regulatory body eCOGRA. That research discovered that online poker players typically played two to three times a for an average of one to two hours, and that they paid about $1.20 an hour in rake week. That study also discovered that players only took about 6 percent of their bankroll to a table on average, meaning most players exercised reasonable bankroll management while playing.
One reason that the access provided by online gambling hasn’t caused a spike in addiction might be because of the distinctions between brick-and-mortar venues and their Internet counterparts. Researchers are finding that a ‘playground’ model in a casino, one that makes use of hot colors, going water, and green spaces, has been most successful for encouraging individuals to gamble. These features cannot be included for most gambling that is online while some sites have actually tried to increase the casino feel through the use of live dealer games.
Atlantic City Casino Revenues Up Slightly in June
The Borgata led Atlantic City in both online and revenues that are brick-and-mortar June. (Image: calvinayre.com)
There’s a lot of doom and gloom surrounding Atlantic City these times. At minimum three gambling enterprises have either closed or are set to shut this with a fourth also potentially closing if a buyer can’t be found year. But while those are bad signs for the East Coast gambling hub, it doesn’t mean that there can not be the bit that is occasional of news for the town.
Revenue numbers for June were released last week, so when adjusted to discount the winnings from the Atlantic Club last year ( that is not any longer open for business), video gaming revenues are up four percent year-over-year. Last June, the 11 casinos which can be still now in operation made $227.1 million, and that quantity rose to $235.9 million in 2014.
Closure of Atlantic Club, Online Gambling Help Numbers
The raw figures aren’t quite as good, of course. The city as a whole saw casino winnings drop by 5.7 percent if you include the Atlantic Club’s revenue from last year. But such modifications are going to become commonplace for the year that is next more, as a series of casino closures is changing the dynamics of this gaming industry in the city.
Another factor that’s only just starting to impact Atlantic City is online gambling. The net casinos brought in $9.5 million during June, which accounts for all of the increase in year-over-year income. Online gambling was not yet controlled or operational in nj-new jersey at this time last year.
That may seem like a success, but like many things in Atlantic City these days, there are two sides towards the story. That $9.5 million in revenue is down about nine percent from more than $10.4 million in May, and marks the next right month of decrease for on line gambling in New Jersey. It’s also the figure that is lowest published by the sites since January.
Borgata Leads City in Revenue
The Borgata is nevertheless the best choice both in online-gambling and land-based in the city. The casino won $48.1 million in June, down less than one per cent when comparing to year that is last. The Borgata also led just how with $3.4 million in online winnings, though that has been down 14 per cent from May and was the lowest total that is monthly far in 2014.
In a month filled with up and downs, the winner that is biggest was clearly the Golden Nugget. Although the $14.3 million the casino won rated just 7th among Atlantic City casinos, that still marked an increase that is year-over-year of percent. The Golden Nugget was also the casino that is only posted a monthly increase in online gambling profits, earning about $100,000 more than it did in May. That represents the second consecutive development month for the Nugget’s online operations.
In the other side of the coin, Trump Plaza saw its casino revenues tumble nearly 32 % compared to last June, down seriously to a paltry $4.7 million, by far the figure that is lowest in the city. Numbers like those help explain why the casino is now anticipated to be closed in September.
The Plaza is also the operator of the smaller gambling that is online in brand New Jersey in partnership with Betfair and GameAccount. During the brief moment, it’s unclear what’s going to become of this web site whenever Trump Plaza closes down. The casino site brought in just over $500,000 in revenue during June.