Western Australian punter wins $100k from $2 Melbourne Cup bet

A Western Australian gambler has turned $2 into more than $100,000 with a single bet on the 2023 Melbourne Cup.

Caulfield Cup winner Without A Fight claimed a first Cup double since 2001 as he romped home to victory in the big race.

Watch the Spring Racing Carnival LIVE with RACING.COM on Kayo Sports. Join now and start streaming immediately >

It was a stunning win for the Irish gelding, who returned $7.50 for a win and $2.65 for a place, according to WA TAB.

But The West Australian has reported that one lucky fan did much better than that.

After Without A Fight claimed victory, Soulcombe earned $3.40 for the place, while $151 outsider Sheraz was a shocker for third place, with $22 for the place.

The Ashrun ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, which cost $26 for the win, was fourth.

It made the unlikely quartet a very valuable selection, as one lucky gambler discovered.

A $2 bet turned into $100,763 on a first four mystery bet, the bet many people dream of landing.

There were other big winners, including a $100,000 on Without A Fight when the prize was $9, taking home a whopping $900,000, while an $80,000 bet saw a punter walk away with $600,000.

But not all punters emerged happy after favorite Vauban flopped to finish 14th.

Vauban received significant bets on Tuesday in the lead-up to the iconic race, including a $320,000 bet spread across odds of $5 and $4.80 by professional gambler Steve Bradley.

He initially targeted a $400,000 bet of $5 to win $2 million, but had to settle for smaller bets totaling $320,000.

“Steve Bradley went absolutely crazy and it caused chaos in the room,” said bookmaker Warren Woodcock.

“There were a lot of big bets flying around.”

Other bets on Vauban included $230,000 for $4.80 and $200,000 for $5 before the horse finished a disappointing 14th.

Two bets of $20,000 and $22,500 were placed on the eventual winner, Without A Fight, at odds of $7.50, yielding returns of $150,000 and $168,750 respectively.

Several TAB bettors also won big after placing $10,000 and $15,500 bets on Without A Fight at $6 odds, leading to huge wins of $60,000 and $93,000.

A Ladbrokes customer had a potential $1 million win thanks to a multiple bet over five legs, with the final leg seeing Vauban win the Melbourne Cup at odds of $7.

The bet was set to return $989,120, but Vauban’s loss left the gambler painfully short on the payout.

I think that’s why they say never bet more than you can afford to lose.