Mickey victory will clean bookies out
They have again cut the odds on the Donegal man’s chances of scooping gold at the weekend.
“We’ve been taking bets on Mickey since the week before he won the You’re a Star competition,” said Aidan White, manager at the Two Takes All bookmakers. The bookie works just three doors up from Mickey’s original home.
“We’ve taken €1,200 on him so far this week. One person here has €500 each way on him. Lots of factories and workplaces have pooled their money to have a good flutter on him. We’ve had to cut him from 8/1 on Monday to 6/1 today.”
The popular bookmaker says he’ll be among those heading to Latvia on a specially chartered flight out of Derry on Friday morning. And he says it may not be safe to return if Mickey does win. On bets already placed, he’ll be down about €25,000. The bulk of the money is expected to come in over the coming days.
“The only boy who hasn’t a bet on him at this point is the parish priest.
Fr Kilpatrick, though, is doing his bit by bringing Saturday night’s Mass forward from 8pm to 7pm so that everyone can enjoy the build-up to the long-awaited contest.
People are flooding into the town with every hotel room and B&B for miles around booked solid. “It’s going to be a huge night here and everyone’s dying for it,” Mr White added.
Away from the hype at home, the star of the moment is settling into rehearsals and his first press conference with the international media in Latvia’s capital, Riga.
“I’d really like to be one of the first four. I wish I could win this contest, for my family. I know Irish people would appreciate it as well,” Mickey told journalists yesterday.
The build-up to the contest hasn’t been the easiest from a personal point of view, he said. His father’s recent death has been a difficult time for all of his family. “He was ill for a long time and partially I was ready for his passing, yet, of course, it affected me.”
