A GOLF fan has been left furious after bookmaker Coral refused to pay out £1,250 for his £1 wager on the US Masters.
Lee Beardmore, 39, put the tiny bet on American Bubba Watson to win Sunday's championship — and got odds of 1,000-1.
He then stood to collect another £250 as the bet was each-way.
But Coral is refusing to pay out as a worker confused mid-ranking Bubba's 40-1 odds with the 1,000-1 figure for rank outsider Tom Watson.
Lee, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs, has been left with a goodwill offer of just £66.
He said: “I don’t bet very often, but I am an avid golf fan so I enjoy a flutter on the Masters and I couldn’t believe it when Bubba won.
“I was really excited when I went to collect my winnings because I’ve never won that much before. But when I found it was a mistake I didn’t know what to think.
“I was gutted and angry because I don’t know why I should be punished for someone else’s mistake.
“I put good money on a bet which I thought was legitimate and now it turns out it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.”
But Coral spokesman David Stevens said: “This was an unfortunate mix-up with the names, due to human error, for which we apologise sincerely.
“However our rules clearly state that in this situation, bets will be settled at the correct odds at the time the bet was placed, in this case 40-1.”
Lee’s brother Rob, also 39, who actually placed the £1 each-way bet, said: “When it comes to the Masters it is anyone’s game so I don’t think Lee thought that the odds were out of the ordinary.
“If it was somebody like Tiger Woods he might have thought differently."
Lee Beardmore, 39, put the tiny bet on American Bubba Watson to win Sunday's championship — and got odds of 1,000-1.
He then stood to collect another £250 as the bet was each-way.
But Coral is refusing to pay out as a worker confused mid-ranking Bubba's 40-1 odds with the 1,000-1 figure for rank outsider Tom Watson.
Lee, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs, has been left with a goodwill offer of just £66.
He said: “I don’t bet very often, but I am an avid golf fan so I enjoy a flutter on the Masters and I couldn’t believe it when Bubba won.
“I was really excited when I went to collect my winnings because I’ve never won that much before. But when I found it was a mistake I didn’t know what to think.
“I was gutted and angry because I don’t know why I should be punished for someone else’s mistake.
“I put good money on a bet which I thought was legitimate and now it turns out it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.”
But Coral spokesman David Stevens said: “This was an unfortunate mix-up with the names, due to human error, for which we apologise sincerely.
“However our rules clearly state that in this situation, bets will be settled at the correct odds at the time the bet was placed, in this case 40-1.”
Lee’s brother Rob, also 39, who actually placed the £1 each-way bet, said: “When it comes to the Masters it is anyone’s game so I don’t think Lee thought that the odds were out of the ordinary.
“If it was somebody like Tiger Woods he might have thought differently."
