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Beating the odds and the bookmaker

Buying life insurance is a bit like taking a bet. The thing is, in order to collect you have to die, which, fraud aside, kind of precludes your personal enjoyment of the proceeds.

Flippancy aside, there is this fellow in England, One Jon Matthews, who has turned this on its head. It seems that in 2006 he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an aggressive asbestos related cancer and given only months to live. Apparently virtually all those diagnosed with this cancer are dead within 24 months of the diagnosis.

"Never in 30 years in the business have I been so pleased to pay a winning client £10,000, with, I trust, a further £10,000 to come next year."

William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe
Unfazed the hero of our tale approached bookmakers William Hill and placed three bets upon his survival. His first £100 bet at 50/1 was that he would survive until June 2008. He did and collected £5000 last year. Most of which went to charity.

He will collect another £5000 by surviving until Monday, just a day away now.

And Mr Matthews will collect on his third bet if can survive another 12 months until June 2010 and if he does he will collect a cool £10,000 at odds of 100/1.

And with the bookie on his side hopefully he can't loose.

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