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Lucky Melbourne Cup punter dumped before epic $793k win

Andrew Reid

For Melbourne punter Kenny, Tuesday's Cup was one he'll never forget.

The tradie was put through a true rollercoaster of emotions after being dumped moments after Vow and Declare's victory in the race that stops a nation.

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To make matters worse, he'd picked the correct horses to finish in the first four places, just not in the correct order.

Or so he thought.

As fate had it, second across the line Master of Reality was demoted to fourth place due to a post-race protest - bumping Prince of Arran into second and Il Paradiso into third.

A post-race Melbourne Cup protest saw the order of the first four horses shuffle around.
A wild finish to the Melbourne Cup saw several final placings change after the race. Pic: Getty

Kenny was oblivious to all that though after the high-school friend he'd taken on a date to Melbourne's Crown Casino, told him she was pulling the pin.

The man's date proceeded to tell him that she couldn't see the pair's relationship going anywhere and that she was catching the 5 o'clock train home.

It was just after this moment - when the punter decided to check his online betting account - that his whole world changed.

Speaking to Garry Lyon and Tim Watson on SEN Breakfast on Thursday morning, Kenny said he "started screaming" wildly when he saw all the zeros next to his account balance.

“I’m seeing all these numbers mate and I’m like speechless, I’m gasping. I’m like, ‘Oh my effing god, oh my god’ and everyone at the restaurant is looking at me like, ‘What’s wrong with this clown?’”

The win even led to a change of heart from his date, who decided to put off her departure to celebrate the man's Melbourne Cup bonanza.

‘I’m going to buy a house’

“The five o’clock train turned into a seven o’clock train. She kept going to the bar and getting more drinks.

A Melbourne punter won a small fortune on the Melbourne Cup with a correct first four bet.
Melbourne punter Kenny was rolling in cash after his big Melbourne Cup win. Pic: Getty

“I paid for lunch, I paid for all the drinks. We had a bit of a laugh about it. She was ringing her girlfriends, she was ringing her old man as well.”

Kenny says despite loving a gamble, he's intent on taking a sensible approach with his newfound fortune.

“I went back to the Crown after the date got on the train, had a couple of drinks, took a taxi home. I haven’t spent a cent.

“I’m going to keep my job and I’m going to go back to work. I’m going to buy a house on the Gold Coast and happy days.”