Woods' Masters win hurts bookmakers

Wisconsin man earns $1.275m after betting $85,000 on golf legend

LONDON: A Wisconsin man who bet $85,000 on Tiger Woods to win the Masters was handed a check for $1.275 million by bookmaker William Hill on Monday.

A day after Woods came from behind to win his first major title in 11 years, a video circulating online showed James Adducci picking up his check at SLS Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.

The 39-year-old told Golf Digest that the 14-1 bet was his first sports wager.

The stockbroker, who works from home, said he planned to spend the winnings on home improvements and paying off debts while investing the rest.

Reports said the net $1.19 million payout was the largest for a single ticket golf bet in the company's history in the United States.

"Pretty good first bet," Nick Bogdanovich, William Hill's US director of trading, told ESPN. "It's great to see Tiger back. It's a painful day for William Hill — our biggest loss ever — but a great day for golf."

William Hill was not the only bookmaker to feel the pain after the 43-year-old Woods secured his fifth green jacket at Augusta National.

SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas had a "high five-figure" net loss on its Masters futures, and offshore sportsbook BetOnline.ag said the surprise win produced the company's biggest loss on a futures market, ESPN said.