by Ryan D. Jaeger
As many parts of the UK woke up to their first white Christmas in five
years, UK bookies are preparing for a monster payout after many people voted
that a single snowflake would fall in the 24 hours of 25 December.
Snow fell in many areas of the country over Christmas, putting the smile on
tens of thousands of Britons who bet on a white festive season.
William Hill took 27,000 bets on a White Christmas, with Aberdeen being the
odds-on favorite at Aberdeen seeing snow at 4/6.
The company had bets on snow in London set at 2/1 and was hoping to avoid
paying out on that bet.
"We have potentially dodged a monster payout but we are still going to be
watching Buckingham Palace like a hawk, as just a flake or two will decide
whether we are going to have a festive season or not," said a spokesperson for
William Hill.
"We still expect to take a hit with snow in Scotland and Northern Ireland,
but are hopeful that London will miss out," he added.
The cold snap wreaked havoc on the country's roads, with many people
cancelling their travelling plans as a result.
However, on Christmas Day, those on the road reported that conditions had
improved.
The Highways Agency said that the roads have been relatively quiet on
Christmas Day.
The weather caused the cancellation of many sporting events that had been
scheduled for the weekend.
Boxing National Hunt meetings had been called off in many locations,
including Sedgefield and Market Rasen, and the majority of all Scottish Football
League fixtures had been postponed.
