News
May 2007
Centenarian wins age wager
Alec Holden, from Epsom in Surrey, made a bet ten years ago that he would live to be a hundred. The £100 wager was made with bookmaker William Hill at odds of 250/1, netting Mr Holden £25,000 to celebrate his 100th birthday with.
Born on 24 April 1907, Mr Holden says the secret to his longevity is eating porridge everyday, not worrying about anything, doing as little work as possible and going on lots of holidays. He also runs a local chess club, playing every day.
Acknowledging that people are living much longer these days, William Hill have increased the age for these kind of bets from 100 to 110.
Rupert Adams, a spokesman for them, said: "When we started taking these bets, 100 years old seemed to be an almost mythical landmark and we were prepared to offer massive odds. But these age wagers are starting to cost us a fortune and from now on we are going to push out the age to 110."
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