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March 8, 2010; Daily Mail |It’s not that unusual for a series of wise investments to keep paying off for some lucky charity after the death of a benefactor—like shares of stock that continue to rise and pay healthy dividends. The international aid agency, Oxfam, is hoping they get lucky from a series of bets a British gambler made ahead of his death last year at age 69. Before he died, Nick Newlife placed several long-range bets with British bookmakers with the understanding that if they continue to pay off the charity could win £340,000 ($511,676). So far, Newlife’s gambling prowess is showing promise. As a result of an earlier £250 ($376) bet that tennis superstar Roger Federer would win at least 14 Grand Slam titles before 2020 the charity won £16,750 ($25,000) this year. Other of Newlife’s bets that still have years to run include wagers on another tennis star, Andy Roddick, and cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan. Should Oxfam (and Newlife’s) luck hold, the charity will win enough money to buy emergency rations for 46,000 people or safe drinking water for more than 350,000, the Daily Mail reports. For now, all eyes are on Wimbledon, where if Federer wins another singles title—his seventh—in June, Oxfam scores £100,000 ($150,000). In case anyone is interested in placing a side bet, Graham Sharpe, a spokesman for British bookmaker William Hill said that Newlife was “a very shrewd sporting gambler whose early identification of potential superstars won tens of thousands of pounds for himself while he was still alive.”—Bruce Trachtenberg
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