 Painter cleans up with $250,000 pools win
A self-employed house painter has hit the jackpot, winning quarter-of-a-million bucks on the football pools. When Arthur Tucker, 62, was first told of the windfall - from a four dollar stake - he thought it was HOTT 107 radio prankster Thaao Dill playing a trick on him. As soon as he realized it was for real he says: "I fell to my knees, I just went all to pieces." The Liverpool football fan has no wild plans for the cash and will carry on working, but says it will make life a little easier and give him a bit more time on the golf course. He also plans to splash out on his five grandchildren to ensure they get a good education. "I've got to look out for them and make sure they get the right schooling. I've got no big plans, I'm going to carry on working and living here. There's no place like Bermuda," he said. The Littlewoods English Football Pools - run locally by Queen Street bookmaker Sea Horses - challenges punters to pick 10 draws from the weekend fixture list. The person or persons, who get the most right, share the pool. Mr. Tucker, who placed his winning coupon on the May 3 fixtures and got eight correct, admits he just picked random numbers. Even now, he's not sure which results won him the money. "I just pick different numbers every time. It's just pure luck. If you played the pools for a living you'd be in trouble. I guess when it's your time it's your time." Mr. Tucker has been playing the pools on and off for years, filling in his coupon once a month. Apart from winning one pound (roughly two dollars) in 1970 he hasn't had much luck. "When Lee (Sea Horses general manager Lee Beauchamp) called I thought someone was playing games. "I thought it better not be that short boy from the radio. If it is, I'm gonna kill him!" Mr. Beauchamp confirmed that it was no prank, saying it was one of the nicest jobs he's had to do in his nine years as a bookie. It's been a lucky month for Bermuda pools players with another punter netting a $60,000 pay out the week before. "That's very unusual, but it just shows you it can happen," Mr. Beauchamp said. "You don't even need to know anything about football, most people just pick their lucky numbers."
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