The TAB has confirmed one lucky Kiwi has scored the biggest Melbourne Cup win ever in New Zealand, pocketing $1.16 million on yesterday's race.
TAB executive chair Dean McKenzie said the winning bet was the largest pay out by the TAB in recent history.
“There are always wonderful stories that emerge out of the Melbourne Cup. For this Melbourne Cup punter, a $30 bet has turned out to be life changing,” said McKenzie.
“We’ve been back through our records and this is the biggest collect we’ve ever returned. Looking back as far as 2013, the next biggest Melbourne Cup win was $364,016."
McKenzie said that number was blown out of the water yesterday though.
“The retired man from Bishopdale in Christchurch placed a combination of First4 bets totalling $120. One of those combinations for $30 returned $1,168,185.
"The man received $38,939.50 for every dollar he bet."
Kerralyn Hooper, the manager of the Bishopdale TAB branch, said the man had been a loyal customer there for 25 years.
“It was just surreal to see somebody win that amount of money. We were so excited for him. I think initially our excitement was higher than his because he was still in shock,” said Hooper.
“I’ve been involved with the TAB for 25 years and I’ve never seen anything like it. The customer is well known to us and a really nice guy so we’re just thrilled for him.”
Yesterday’s racing saw more than 2.2 million bets sold by the TAB, up 9 per cent on last year and exceeding the previous highest which was set in 2018.
The $1.16 million winning bet:
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