Weekend Review: Bank holiday of sport was the gift that kept on giving for the bookies
Bookies delight over perfect weekend as Rob Cross beats Phil Taylor in the darts and both Manchester teams serve up 0-0 draws
The bookies received a late Christmas present over the New Year weekend, with Kindred, Ladbrokes and BetVictor all reporting exceptional numbers.
The darts proved the highlight for the layers as Rob Cross ruined a fairytale ending for the veteran Phil Taylor in his last ever match.
Kindred’s Ali Gill said: “The PDC darts threw up a very layer friendly result as Rob Cross beat Phil Taylor which left us a very healthy looking win column, along with his semi-final victory over Michael van Gerwen.
Three Ladbrokes punters had the foresight to back Cross in early 2017 at 125/1, leaving the Magic Sign £14.2k out of pocket, but the operator more than made its money back as soon as van Gerwen was eliminated at the semi-final stage.
Ladbrokes’ Jessica Bridge said: “The festive period really kept on giving for the bookies this year. We owe huge thanks to Rob Cross in particular who helped us end the year and start the new one on a high.”
It was a similar story for BetVictor, where Charlie McCann said: “Rob Cross was a very decent result for us in last night’s darts final, with punters keeping the faith in Phil.”
Elsewhere, bettors were caught out in the football as Manchester City’s winning run came to an end on Sunday after a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.
But it was the red side of Manchester that provided Kindred with their biggest win of the weekend, as United’s 0-0 draw with struggling Southampton left the operator with a 50%+ margin.