Just two minutes and a mere two inches were all that stood between a BetMGM player and an incredible £2 million (US$2.5 million) payout in the Euro 2014 soccer championships this past Tuesday.
The drama unfolded amid the thrilling backdrop of the beautiful Leipzig Stadium in Germany. The contest? A face-off in the Euro 2024 between Portugal and the Czech Republic, also known as Czechia. BetMGM had earlier informed Casino.org that a London-based female player was potentially on the verge of a lucrative victory, provided the match swung in a certain direction.
This particular betting enthusiast had already proved her prowess, correctly predicting the outcomes of five out of six Euros games, including those involving teams like Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania, Poland, Netherlands, Serbia, England, Austria and France.
But, for the golden opportunity to cash in, Portugal had to beat the Czech Republic by a 3-1 margin. This wasn’t as far-fetched as it sounded’ the same scoreline had materialized the last time these two teams met in the 2008 edition of the same championship. If this occurred, she would be the first to claim victory in BetMGM’s Golden Goals promotion, a scheme that had gone without any winners during the 2023/34 EPL season.
Despite its favorite status, Ronaldo’s Portugal seemed to grapple with delivering on its potential during the match’s initial phase. This period saw the Czech keeper Jindřich Staněk expertly rebuffing persistent attacks from Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes, with Portuguese winger Rafael Leão also nearly tipping the scales.
The atmosphere at the stadium took a dramatic turn when Lukáš Provod, a player from the Czech team, launched a 63rd-minute super-strike that left Portugal’s fans stunned. The silver lining? The bet was still a possibility, albeit a rather faint one, with Portugal left with half an hour to net three goals.
Fortunes for Portugal seemed to turn when a ricochet led to Czech defender Robin Hranac inadvertently putting the ball in his own goal. But the real suspense was yet to come. In the dying minutes of the game, Diego Jota thought he’d closed in on the required 3-1 scoreline, quickly following up on a Ronaldo header that had rebounded from the goalpost. But a VAR review determined that Ronaldo’s elbow had been offside by a mere couple of inches.
The game clocked in added time and substitute Francisco Conceição saved the day for Portugal, scoring a dramatic winner at the 92nd minute. But for the gutsy BetMGM woman, the rollercoaster match ended in a thrilling near miss.
Yet, not everything was lost, she bagged £5,000 for her five successful predictions, a coup considering there was no initial investment on her part. Whether she views it as a £5,000 win or a gut-wrenching £1,995,000 loss is a question that remains unanswered.
Meanwhile, Portugal continues to command a strong position in the tournament, it now stands as the fourth favorite at 6-1 odds, trailing behind England and France at 4-1, and host nation Germany at 5-1.
