A Western Australian punter has turned $2 into more that $100,000 on a single bet at the 2023 Melbourne Cup.
Caulfield Cup winner Without A Fight claimed the first Cup double since 2001 when he romped home to victory in the great race.
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It was a stunning victory for the Irish gelding, who returned $7.50 for a win and $2.65 for a place, according to WA TAB.
But The West Australian has reported that one lucky fan has done many times better than that.
After Without A Fight claimed the win, Soulcombe was $3.40 for the place, while $151 outsider Sheraz was a shocker for third, with $22 for the place.
The Kerrin McEvoy-ridden Ashrun, which was at $26 for the win, was fourth.
It made the unlikely quartet a very valuable selection, which one lucky punter found out.
A $2 bet turned into $100,763 on a first four mystery bet, which is the bet many people dream of landing.
There were other big winners, including a $100,000 on Without A Fight when it was at $9, taking home a cool $900,000, while an $80,000 bet saw a punter leave with $600,000.
But not all punters came out of the day happy after favourite Vauban flopped, finishing 14th.
Vauban received substantial bets in the lead-up to the iconic race on Tuesday, including a $320,000 bet split between odds of $5 and $4.80 by professional punter Steve Bradley.
He initially aimed for a $400,000 bet at $5 to win $2 million but had to settle for smaller bets totalling $320,000.
“Steve Bradley just went completely nuts and it just created chaos in the room,” Bookmaker Warren Woodcock said.
“There were a lot of big bets flying around.”
Other bets on Vauban included $230,000 at $4.80 and $200,000 at $5 before the horse placed a disappointing 14th.
Two bets of $20,000 and $22,500 were placed on the eventual winner, Without A Fight, with odds of $7.50, yielding returns of $150,000 and $168,750 respectively.
Several TAB punters also won big after placing bets of $10,000 and $15,500 on Without A Fight at odds of $6, leading to mammoth returns of $60,000 and $93,000.
A Ladbrokes customer had a potential million-dollar win riding on a five-leg multi-bet, with the final leg being Vauban to win the Melbourne Cup at odds of $7.
The bet stood to collect $989,120, but Vauban‘s loss left the punter painfully short of the payout.
I guess it’s why they say never bet more than you can afford to lose.
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