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It’s the story of two men who are linked by nothing. Or almost nothing. On 30 April 2017, Raymond and Christophe couldn’t resist. The odds (55-1) were too good. So the 50 year old from Corsica and the man from Nancy (11 years his younger), respectively bet 20 and 15€ on a 3-1 victory for Le Gym over Paris Saint-Germain on Winamax. There was reason to jump up to the ceiling when Anastasios Donis was there to score the K.O. goal in the 92nd minute of the game...

RAYMOND, NIÇOIS WHEN THEY WIN

“I am a Bastia fan”. The first sentence is painful. What’s to follow will be savoured.  “You know, people always say that you should never bet with your heart..” At the other end of the line, Raymond is a tease. Despite his love for SCB - nobody is perfect - the Corsican recognizes that “it’s Nice who won (him) the most money in the bets that he has placed. This team can always generate a surprise. The benefit is that when Nice win, I am happy and if they lose, I am not too unhappy”. In any case, on that evening in April 2017, Raymond wasn’t disappointed when the Greek forward earned him a win. “Nice were enjoying themselves. And I could see that Paris could crack at the end if the result didn’t go their way. When your head drops, the teams from the south can walk all over you…”

Did he cry out as Le Gym found the back of the net? “No I didn’t do my best Eugène Saccomano impression, explains the man who won 1100€ thanks to Les Aiglons. 

“I was in a restaurant with my friends. I paid for everyone”, concluded Raymond, who can’t wait for the derbies at the highest level once more (Bastia currently play in National 2). “We take the mickey out of each other all the time, but that’s football. When Bastia were in the top flight and Nice weren’t, we missed you too...”  While waiting to see Sporting climb up the ladders of French football, the fifty year old continues to bet on Ligue 1. “On Friday, either Paris will kick on, or Nice will knuckle down and will break them down. I will bet 50€ on a 3-1 for Nice, 50€ on 4-1. If I get it right, will you call me back?”

CHRISTOPHE, THE HAPPY ANTI-PARISIAN   

“For me, it’s Paris that has allowed me to become rich. When I feel it, I bet on them losing. You can win big...” A Nancy born expatriate living on the outskirts of Paris (La Celle Saint-cloud), Christophe supports the club from his town of birth, but claims to be “anti-Parisian more than anything else”.   

“After the Barcelona comeback, I bet on a win for Nice, he joked. I could really see it happening! All teams are super motivated when they face PSG. And when, they have talent too....” In his appartment, alongside his wife, Christophe spent a long time biting his nails: “It’s not possible for it to stay at 2-1” he repeated continuously, before going to get himself an apple juice from the fridge. "And then, I hear my wife scream. They have scored. They have scored!”

No restaurant to pay, no champagne to pop. Christophe finished his apple juice and withdrew his winnings from his Winamax account. “With this money, I continued to bet of Paris defeats.” This season, he is planning to bet on a draw between Vieira’s Niçois and Tuchel’s Parisians. “1-1, seems the most likely. Dolberg can cause problems. And to improve the odds, I am going to add a Nice equaliser in the final quarter of an hour. But I will still be very happy if Nice beat Paris…

From a Winamax point of view 

Head of Project Marketing at Winamax, Tristan Guiglini answered a couple of questions before Nice - Paris. 

You have partnerships, but you don’t hesitate to joke with clubs on social media. Can you explain this policy?

We have a humorous style on social media towards everyone in sport, for us the jokes and the mickey taking is part of football. If we didn’t criticise our partners, it wouldn’t work any more, we have to take the mickey out of everyone. The community managers don’t receive any rules in terms of the clubs that we are official partners with. It earns us a couple of unhappy phone calls at times, but on the whole, the clubs understand.

What is a good evening of football at Winamax?

A draw! It’s the result that receives the least number of bets. But in general, we are football fans, we all support our own team. 

Are you happy when Paris play? 

PSG matches in Ligue 1 are the matches that attract the most bets. Fans like to bet on the big favorite in an unequal game. To get more interesting odds, people often combine a bet with several favourites.

Do you end up seeing some crazy bets?

Loads! Combined bets on around thirty matches for odds of in excess of 10,000–1. At times, we ask ourselves where they find the inspiration for these bets! 

Which bet do you remember the most? 

In a huge match, there was an exact score 4-2 in the World Cup final. Someone had put down 1 000 € for odds of 150-1 and won 150 000€!

If you had to think about a bet that involved OGC Nice?

It was a while ago but, at the time of Puel-Ben Arfa in 2015, someone bet on a 4-1 at Saint-Etienne for odds of 110-1.

If we asked you to put your head on the line, what is the unlikely bet that you would go for on Friday? 

On Winamax, you have the possiblilty to combine several events in the same match with MyMatch so I am going to go for it: 0-0 at half-time and a 2-0 victory for Nice with goals for Dolberg and Ganago (odds of 450-1)!

► To bet on Nice - Paris, head to Winamax.

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