If 鈥渢he house always wins鈥�, how do professional gamblers make a living? (continued)
Christopher Smith
Whitstable, Kent, UK
Advertisement
It isn鈥檛 always true that 鈥渢he house always wins鈥�.
One instance was the famous of 1991. After extensive research, two men from Essex in the UK, John Carter and Paul Simons, worked out that some bookmakers were offering far too generous odds on a hole-in-one being achieved at professional golf events.
The bookies simply hadn鈥檛 done their homework and in some cases got the odds they were offering completely wrong.
The true odds of a hole in one occurring at the events was around evens, but Carter and Simons found bookies willing to offer up to an astonishing 25/1.
By racing around the country to place many bets they won around 拢500,000.
To answer this question 鈥� or ask a new one 鈥� email lastword@newscientist.com.
Questions should be scientific enquiries about everyday phenomena, and both questions and answers should be concise. We reserve the right to edit items for clarity and style. Please include a postal address, daytime telephone number and email address.
麻豆传媒 retains total editorial control over the published content and reserves all rights to reuse question and answer material that has been submitted by readers in any medium or in any format.