Dead Man's Bet and Federer Win At Wimbledon Will Earn $155K For Charity

Fed at Wimbledon 2012
Photo: Tim Hales / AP

Back in 2003 a British gambler wagered nearly $2500 that Roger Federer would win seven Wimbledon Championships by the year 2019.

Nick Newlife, who placed his bet at 66:1 odds, stood to win $155,000 if the Swiss tennis player could match Pete Sampras' record seven Wimbledon singles titles.

Nine years later, the wager is still in play as Federer, who has now won the Wimbledon championship six times, is in hot pursuit of his seventh title. Newlife, however, will not collect his winnings, even if Federer wins. Newlife died in 2009. 

Before his death, the British gambler and bachelor stipulated in his will that any earnings from the wager be donated to Oxfam, an international charity which fights poverty and works to ensure basic human rights for people of all nations.

It's not likely that the wager is motivating Federer's stellar early round play, but it certainly gives me one one more reason to pull for the all-time tennis great.