By Cara Sulieman
WE’RE ALL dreaming of a white Christmas…especially one man from Derbyshire who stands to win a whopping £14,700 if flakes fall in Aberdeen and Glasgow.
And with snow having already fallen in parts of the country this year, there has been a flurry of bets on waking up to a winter wonderland on December 25.
As a result, bookies will have to cough up one million pounds to lucky punters if it snows across the UK.
William Hill let people place bets for a number of UK cities – including Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland.
And just one flake of snow falling in the 24 hours of Christmas Day is all punters need to claim the cash.
Highest bet
So far this winter has brought a mixed bag, with snow falling across parts of the Scottish Highlands and Central Belt, but temperatures have remained mild.
As a result, the odds are good for Aberdeen at 3/1.
And further south, Glasgow and Edinburgh are at 9/2.
In comparison, the bookies have set the odds for snow in London at 8/1.
The highest bet so far this year was a punter in Derbyshire, who has placed bets on snow falling in various UK cities.
“Decent bets”
They include a £1,000 punt on Aberdeen being covered in flakes and £500 on Glasgow.
A spokesman from William Hill said that they would be more than happy to pay out the huge £14,700 prize if the country is coated in a wintry blanket.
He said: “We’ve not had to pay out in the last few years so if snow does fall this year we’ll be more than happy to give him the prize.
“We’ve estimated that the industry will pay out around £1million if it snows everywhere in the UK this Christmas.
“When there’s a snow on the ground that is a catalyst for people to put a bet on having a white Christmas.
“If there’s no snow at all before Christmas then we have quite a quiet year, but this year because of that snow last week we have taken some decent bets.”
The Met Office sets the location for the snowfall that qualifies, and in Aberdeen it is Pittodrie, Glasgow is the Cathedral and Edinburgh it is the castle.
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