On March 20, 2003, the US and British coalition forces launched an attack on Iraq. Within a month, they controlled most of Iraq. In July 2003, Iraq established an interim government. In December 2003, Saddam was arrested. But the shadow of the war is still shrouded in Iraq's territory. The attacks of car bombs and human bombs continue. In addition to the green zone established by the Americans, Iraq cannot find a safe place.
It is a miracle in itself that the Iraqi football team can enter the Athens Olympics under such conditions. They have experienced economic sanctions for more than 20 years, experienced wars, no equipment, no funds, no training venues, and are constantly advancing with a will.
Although the IOC has always claimed that the Olympics does not involve politics, the political significance of Iraq's participation in the Olympic Games is indeed greater than the participants or the game itself. The Iraqi delegation took part in the Olympics.
The story of the Iraqi football team is very touching, and the Iraqi athletes are also worthy of respect, but touching and respecting can not bring money. European gambling firmly believes that the Iraqi team has just experienced the war, so in the most important football event in this Olympics, the weaker one has the highest odds for the Iraqi team.
"Iraq's odds to enter the semifinals, Ladbrokes 1:50, William Hill 1:60, Ribo 1:8 ... These odds are very good, you can earn it if you buy it." Rate, and then clicked on the odds of the first Iraqi team in the Olympic group stage.
"The Iraqi football team is playing against Portugal in the first game. Let me see the odds of winning and losing if it the victory of Portugal! If the score is ... high odds! 1:100, 1:180, and 1:200 and 1:500! "
Zhang Guan looked at the odds of Iraq's 4: 2 victory over Portugal. The odds offered by various companies are undoubtedly the highest numbers, and even some companies have offered odds of 1:500.
"Let get it, this time I want to get rich!" Zhang Guan shouted to himself secretly.
Zhang Guan knew that the Iraqi team was the biggest dark horse in the football match of this Olympic Games. They not only qualified in the group but also broke into the semifinals. In the first game of Iraq against Portugal, Iraq beat Portugal 4: 2.
...
Zhang Guan wrote the number and situation of the game he wanted to buy and the amount to be purchased on the paper and went to one of the betting counters.
The counter clerk looked at the oriental face and knew that he was a foreign tourist, so he asked in English: "Hello, sir, what service do you need?"
"I want to bet on these." Zhang Guan handed the note to the clerk.
Zhang Guan's mother is a high school English teacher anyway, so Zhang Guan's English level is not bad among high school students of the same age. The basic knowledge of Chinese people is broken English. Zhang Guan's current English level can only cope with daily life. However, foreigners listening to Chinese speaking English are similar to Chinese listening to foreigners speaking Chinese, even if they have grammatical errors, incorrect wording, non-standard pronunciation, not fluent speaking, they will not speak after half the words, etc. They will understand the general meaning.
The clerk took out a note and confirmed: "Are you going to buy it for Iraq's football to enter the semi-finals?"
"Yes!" Zhang Guan answered.
"OPAP bets 5000 euros, Ladbrokes bet 2000 euros, William Hill bets 2000 euros, Ribo bets 2000 euros ..." The clerk confirmed all of Zhang Guan's bets and said: "In this way, all bets need 30,000 Euro. Are you sure? "
The clerk wrote the number 30,000 on the paper while he was talking. He was afraid Zhang Guan did not understand it, so he expressed it in written numbers.
"Yes." Zhang Guan confirmed.
A one-time bet of 30,000 euros, even if the European tourists are local tyrants, the clerk did not expect that Asian tourists are so rich. More importantly, Zhang Guan voted for Iraq to enter the semi-finals, and the odds are all extremely high. The clerk naturally thought Zhang Guan was the kind of gambler who only bought high odds.
"Sir, because the amount exceeds the limit, OPAP betting 5000 Euros needs to be confirmed by the company. You can reduce the bet amount, or you can go to the VIP customer lounge over there to wait, confirming that you will not waste too much time." The clerk said.
Zhang Guan frowned slightly. The regular European gambling companies will limit the number of bets. For some large-volume bets, the gambling companies will also review and confirm that the simple point is that the gambling companies have to evaluate and not accept this business. It is also to avoid malicious betting by business opponents. For example, in many novels, the protagonist bets hundreds of thousands at a time, the regular company will not accept, only the black market transactions will take orders.
Zhang Guan had already inquired about this from the Greeks in the Olympic Village, so he bet the funds separately. The amount of each company's bet is only two or three thousand euros. The purpose is to avoid the large-scale betting audit of the gambling company. The reason why OPAP bets the most is that OPAP is a Greek company, and the amount of bets accepted in Greece is higher than other companies.
A bet of 1 to lose 80, with an investment of 2,000 euros, the gambling company has to accompany 160,000 euros. Zhang Guan feels that those big gambling companies in Europe will not review and confirm for 160,000. And the fact is the same. Those two or three thousand yuan bets were directly passed without review.
OPAP's odds for entering the semi-finals in Iraq is 1 for 100, and a bet of 5000 Euros for a gambling company will accompany 500,000. This has reached the standard of OPAP's verification and confirmation, so OPAP will review this bet and consider it. Let's see if they want to do this business.
Zhang Guan did not go to the lounge, but took out another piece of paper and handed it to the clerk again.
"I want to buy these, and may also need to be checked and confirmed by the gambling company." Zhang Guan said.
"Okay, sir." The clerk took the piece of paper, then widened his eyes, and there were incredible expressions on his face.
"Sir, are you going to buy Iraq 4: 2 victory over Portugal? Are you sure you haven't written any mistake?" The clerk asked.
"No reversal." Zhang Guan nodded, and the clerk's reaction did not go beyond Zhang Guan's expectations.
"Okay, sir." The clerk calculated that Zhang Guan's bet was the same as the previous one. Each gambling company had two or three thousand euros, but the odds were much higher than the previous one.
"These add up to a total of 28,000 euros. This gentleman, I need to confirm with you again. You are buying a 4: 2 victory over Portugal in Iraq. Are you sure you have written the correct position of the two teams?" The clerk asked.
"Nothing wrong, I think Iraq will win." Zhang Guan answered.
"Okay, then." The shop assistant started betting for Zhang Guan.
At this time, a middle-aged man who had just finished betting happened to pass behind Zhang Guan. The man was wearing a khaki suit and carrying a black briefcase. He heard Zhang Guan talking with the clerk and immediately came.
"Sorry, man, if I heard correctly, you just bought Iraq to defeat 4: 2 Portugal?" The middle-aged man said.
"Yes." Zhang Guan answered.
"Oh my goodness, you shouldn't buy it. How could Iraq beat Portugal? I don't understand the Iraqi football team. Maybe they are very strong in Asia, but when they come to the Olympics, they are definitely at the bottom level. Portugal is the most popular to win the Olympic Games." The middle-aged men stretched out their fingers and said while counting:" The Portuguese team has Costa, Almeida, Ribeiro, Bosingwa, Almot, Alves, these are all the best group of young guys in Europe. Maybe you are not familiar with these people, but the Portuguese team also has Cristiano Ronaldo! He is now Europe, no, is the most talented football player among young people in the world. Portugal is so powerful, how can Iraq beat Portugal? And it's still 4: 2, such an exaggerated score ... "
The middle-aged man spoke English faster and faster, and Zhang Guan didn't understand much at the end, but in the end, he spoke of Ronaldo's name, but Zhang Guan understood it.
Zhang Guan smiled slightly and said, "I think the odds are high, so I bought Iraq."
"High odds? Oh, God! I don't know what you think, you just throw money into the fire. Well, I have nothing to say, I can only thank you for your contribution to the Greek economy " The middle-aged man shook his head and turned away.
At this time, the clerk also completed the betting process.
"Sir, there are a lot of bets that need to wait for the gambling company to verify and confirm because it involves foreign companies, the verification and confirmation time may be slightly longer, so you may have to wait for one to two hours." The shop assistant said.
Zhang Guan nodded, this time he reduced the bet amount, but because the betting odds are higher, the final return is more, so there are more gambling companies to review.
"I still need to buy something else. This time it's an athletics event." Zhang Guan handed the third piece of paper to the clerk.
The clerk turned up the paper and looked at it and said, "Are you going to bet on the men's 100-meter sprint event in track and field, and Chinese Guan-Zhang will win the championship?
The clerk did not know that the Chinese put the last name last, so he directly pronounced Zhang Guan's name as "Guan-Zhang".
"Yes." Zhang Guan nodded again to confirm.
"So how much are you going to buy?" The clerk asked.
This time Zhang Guan did not write down the bet amount on the paper.
"Each gambling company is 500 euros. If it is not verified, then buy another 500 euros, until the money in my bank card is used up." Zhang Guan answered.
...
OPAP headquarters.
The phone sounded, the supervisor picked up the receiver, and the other party said, "Boss, there is a bet that needs confirmation."
"Got it." The supervisor put down the phone, picked up the mouse and clicked on the computer a few times, and saw the information of the bet.
"5000 Euros bet on the Iraqi football team to enter the semi-finals! According to the odds, if Iraq enters the semi-finals, it will accompany 500,000." The supervisor smiled self-deprecatingly and thought to himself, "Where is this coming from?" Madman, how could Iraq enter the semi-finals! This is simply to send money! "
The supervisor moved the mouse and gently clicked to confirm the agreement. Then returned to the previous interface, but found that there is a new bet that needs to be reviewed and confirmed.
"Eh, it's Iraq again. The Iraqi group stage defeated Portugal 4: 2! God, why are there so many lunatics today, and the lunatic asylum is closed!"