Late gambler's wager on Roger Federer nets a charity more than $150,000
Roger Federer's record-tying seventh Wimbledon title allowed a dead gambler's bet to finally cash in for charity. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
A gambler in the United Kingdom made a gutsy wager on a rising tennis star in 2003. Now, nine years later, a charity in England is cashing in.
Nick Newlife placed a £1,520 bet that Roger Federer would win seven Wimbledon titles by 2019, a record that would match Pete Sampras, according to a BBC report.
Newlife wouldn't see Federer do it on Sunday, dying in 2009 but leaving the bet in his will to Oxfam, an international charity aiming to find solutions to poverty.
The Swiss beat Great Britain's own Andy Murray in four sets to match Sampras' record and allow Oxfam to cash in on the bet, which netted the charity £101,840, or nearly $158,000.
At 66/1 odds, Federer got the mark of seven titles after a two-and-a-half year drought in Slam victories. Oxfam's Andrew Barton knew of the bet during Sunday's final and found himself conflicted.
"I was just sitting there watching the tennis and I kept finding myself calling for Murray, particularly in that long game in the third set. And then my head is telling me: Andrew, remember Oxfam gets the money if Federer wins."
