Homeless man who bet $5 on the Melbourne Cup wins $100,000 – here’s how he’ll use the windfall to turn his life around
- New Zealander won big on Without A Fight
- Man has been living in a garage for months
- Says he will now put a deposit on a house
A homeless punter has turned $5 into $100,000 following Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup at Flemington – and is planning on using the six-figure payment to completely change his life.
Jockey Mark Zahra claimed back-to-back Melbourne Cups on Without A Fight ($8.00), finishing over two lengths ahead of the second-placed Soulcombe and the third-placed Sheraz.
The New Zealand man from Wellington, known only as Robert, placed the bet on Monday at the Petone Working Men’s Club – and he was gobsmacked by his winnings when he checked his account balance.
‘It was quite, quite an emotional process, mate,’ he told the NZ Herald.
‘I couldn’t believe it, and I thought to myself, “There must be something wrong here”.’
A homeless man has turned $5 into $100,000 following Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup
The New Zealand man named Robert couldn’t believe his luck and says the winning will transform his life
Robert doublechecked the result and realised that it was correct and he had in fact won NZ$106,000 ($97,781.29AUD).
Robert has spent the last nine months living in a garage and he says the winnings are going to change everything.
‘I’ve gone from being homeless, sitting in a garage to finally being able to afford a deposit on a house now,’ he said.
A Western Australian punter also been lucky on the Cup, turning $2 into $100,000.
The gambler played the TAB’s first four mystery bet game and it came through, meaning he walked away with $100,763 on Tuesday.
Other, bolder punters placed a $100,000 bet on Without A Fight to win the race, which returned $900,000, while an $80,000 bet saw another gambler collect $600,000.
A $1 trifecta of the first three won another West Australian $10,688. The quinella returned $43.20, exacta $89.20, trifecta $10,668 and the first four returned $332,291.
Jockey Mark Zahra basked in his victory, having also taken out the Caulfield Cup with the same horse last month.
The New Zealand man revealed that he has been living in a garage for nine months and will now finally be able to put a deposit down on a house
‘I reckon winning one helps here you just go in so much more confident you know like because when you you haven’t won one you’re like I might never get the chance when you’ve won one you can relax and say I’ve still got one at home to go into,’ he said.
Zahra was lost for words, scolding himself for holding up two fingers for winning two Melbourne Cups and calling himself an ‘idiot’.
‘The stars aligned for Gold Trip last year and aligned for this horse this year. Just a few things and the way he won the Caulfield Cup, I was confident he would run it,’ Zahra said.
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