British billionaire wins huge bet on Donald Trump victory

Why didn't we all do this to soften the blow?

Why didn't we just all go and stick a massive bet on Donald Trump to win, just in case he actually did? Then, in the event he actually did become US President, you could cry into a huge pile of filthy cash. One British-based billionaire could see Trump's victory coming a mile off, so had a little flutter on it... well, 'little' in relative terms.

Vincent Tchenguiz put down £350,000 on the Republican candidate winning between brokers Betfair and Spreadex.

But after Trump swept home to beat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US Election, the 60-year-old tycoon will be picking up a tidy £1.2m from his gamble.

‘I’m surprised by how everybody is stunned that [Trump] actually won,’ he told Metro. ‘I didn’t think that it was so black and white. But people are so shocked – I should have got much better odds. ‘Am I happy? I’m not going to comment, happy or not happy. ‘We’ll see where it goes. Some of his policies are pretty good, some he will have to tone down. ‘There is going to be a lot of change.' He wasn't the only punter in Britain to win big on Trump. Cornwall hotel owner John Mappin placed a string of bets on the coiffured billionaire to win going back to when he was around 150/1 to win the nomination last June, according to the Plymouth Herald. Mappin, who owns Camelot Castle Hotel, stuck 30 bets on Trump over the past 18 months with William Hill and he's taking home a not-too-shabby £100,000 cheque. The bookies are also set to pay out £101,750 to a mystery punter in Nottingham who put two sizeable bets totalling £37,000 on the Republican nominee. Nobody as of yet has come forward to claim the dream triple of Trump, Brexit, Leicester for the Premier League title - sticking a fiver on that would have won you nearly £13m

@johncrossmirror £12.5 million if you'd of banged a fiver treble on it ?

— James Young (@jamesyoung_7) November 9, 2016

Not everyone was a lucky winner with the election, though. Some people bet big on Clinton for the win... and will probably be feeling a touch gloomier than the rest of us. The Chronicle Live report a first-time gambler lost more than £180,000 betting on the US Secretary of State to win the presidential race. The North East woman woman reportedly walked into William Hill and staked £170,000 on Clinton beating Trump back in October. The paper reports she returned to the Northumberland bookies to stick down another £13,200 on the Democrat - a bet she only stood to win £22,716 from on top of her £183,200 combined stake. So keep yer chin up out there. It could always be worse.