Budget 2015: Osborne’s two kitchens joke just cost bookies with biggest ever Budget buzzword bingo bet payout
Everyone loves playing a bit of buzzword bingo on Budget day – except for bookies this year.
Punters are the first big winners of Osborne’s pre-election giveaway and Ladbrokes the losers, as the bookies is having to make its largest ever payout on Budget buzzword bets.
Osborne’s gag about two kitchens – referencing an Ed Miliband gaffe that’s kept political types talking for the past week – cost political oddsmakers dearly at 10/1.
Along with the phrase “all in it together” at 4/1, Ladbrokes says its returns could run in excess of £20,000.
Announcing funding for Internet of Things (IoT) technology, Osborne said: "Were someone to have two kitchens they would be able to control both fridges from the same phone.”
Which came first, the policy or the joke, is subject to some speculation.
Osborne appears to have decided on support for the internet of things to generate a two-kitchens gag about ed miliband #budget2015
— Robert Peston (@Peston) March 18, 2015
"Osborne's gag triggered the biggest Budget buzzword bingo payout we've ever known. We'll have definitely paid for a few additional kitchens thanks to the chancellor's speech," said Ladbrokes Matthew Shaddick.
Its previous payout to date was on last year’s buzzwords which included “hard working families”, however that only ran into the couple of thousands of pounds.
The day did begin well with Osborne donning a grey tie, apparently a virtually un-backed option, but it all went down the kitchen sink from there.