There are two types of bets: the first is rigged from the start, but this is exactly what normal people are most likely to encounter. “I bet 10 euros that I can get the coin out of the bottle without touching the coin or the bottle,” or something like that. If you accept such a bet, you know very well that you will lose it. But the € 10 is worth watching your opponent finish it off. The second type of betting is more spontaneous, more creative and mostly inspired by boredom.
Poker and golf can get boring, especially during tournaments, and is therefore fertile ground for some of the craziest offer bets. Rumor has it that Winston Churchill once offered Lloyd George a bet for the job of prime minister during a round of golf (Churchill lost).
Gary McCord: Pelican shot
We start with golf. Tin Cup is the best golf film ever made. It is also one of the few films to illustrate both types of betting. For the rigged bet, McAvoy (Kevin Costner) challenges Simms (Don Johnson) to hit the ball as far as possible with a 7-iron . The second bet takes place at the end of a day at the US Open in a crowded bar. This time around, Simms bets McAvoy that he can’t hit the ball out of the bar, across a lake, and onto a post with enough force to make the pelican sitting on top of it fly away.
The bet is based on a true story that happened in Pensacola, Florida. American professional golfer Gary McCord and several other players got bored during a rain break. “There was nothing to do but bet,” complained McCord. McCord bet he could hit a ball out of the apartment across the lake and scare the pelican on a post. He succeeded and he still claims to this day that this was his best shot so far.
McCord acted as a consultant for the Tin Cup golf scenes and plays himself in the film.
Amarillo Slim goes to jail
Amarillo Slim was one of the greatest gamblers of all time. Tin Cup made two of his bets. On the one hand, Slim won a golf game against Evel Knievel with everyday gardening tools as striking objects . The aforementioned bet of hitting the golf ball with a 7 iron as far as possible is also based on one of slim bets. The Texan should hit the ball further than a mile. To win the insane sum of $ 1 million, Slim drove to a frozen lake and hit the ball with a hammer.
One of Slim’s wildest bets he made with a gangster who was caught for speeding and thrown into the local jail along with his thugs. The local sheriff was a friend of Slim and told him about his “guests”. Most people would want to stay out of such a situation, but Slim would not. He rushed to the prison and asked to be detained as well. The inmates spent the night betting. One bet had a fly on the “main character”. Each of the five men had a sugar cube with them and they bet US $ 50,000 on which cube the fly would land first. The clever Slim had moistened his sugar cube and the fly came straight to him.