The fairytale is almost complete.
Victory for Leicester City against Manchester United at Old Trafford tomorrow morning will see them claim the English Premier League title, and no one in New Zealand wants to see the Foxes win more than a woman from the North Island.
That's about all she wants you to know about her. That, and the fact she has $50 on Leicester to win the League at odds of $1001-1.
"I watched their first game – I've got Premier League Pass on the computer. I liked how they played together as a team and I just thought, geez, you look a goer."
She was one of 20 TAB customers to place a bet on the Foxes at those eye-watering opening odds, but her punt was by far the biggest.
And much like her details, her bet is a closely guarded secret. Only her father and a friend she's visiting know about the bet, but neither is aware of exactly how much is riding on the last three games of the season.
"I like footy and I've been a punter for years -- I come from a family of ex-bookies."
Will this be her biggest ever collect?
"Oh very, very much so, yes."
Leicester played well in those first few games of the season. A 4-2 win at home against Sunderland, a 2-1 win at West Ham. But what inspires someone to put $50 on a rank outsider tipped for relegation?
It turns out it was fear of missing out. Again.
"A couple of seasons ago I had the same feeling about Manchester City after their first game. They won the league, and I didn't put a bet on."
"So this time I looked at the odds and I thought, "Oh go on". You know? Really. If they do come through by the end of the season $50 won’t seem like much."
It certainly doesn't now. It also helps soften the blow of losing similar bets she placed on Crystal Palace and Swansea at the start of the season.
She tells me she doesn't support a particular English team. But with $50,000 on the line it's perhaps not surprising she's become a Leicester fan over the course of the season.
“I like [Leicester manager Claudio] Ranieri. I think he's a nice person and a good coach. I like his approach, I like how he comes across, and that the team support each other so much and the fact so many of them have scored goals," she said.
And despite the efforts of goal-scoring sensation Jamie Vardy, and those of newly-crowned PFA Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez, she's adamant Leicester's success has been a team effort.
“They wouldn’t have got where they got unless the rest of the team hadn't come in behind.
"So many of them have scored goals, and someone like Huth at the back and Schmeichel the goalie -- I mean everyone’s trying to buy him for next season.
"Vardy’s thing was phenomenal but they wouldn't be where they are now if the whole team hadn't been doing brilliant stuff."
She hasn’t been getting up in the middle of the night to watch Leicester's games, and that probably won't change tomorrow morning. The nerves certainly play a part.
"I don't really like tempting fate – I'd almost just rather just let it happen and then click on the computer and see what did happen."
She has a busy life so needs the sleep, too. She returned to study as an adult, so there won’t be any new cars or dream holidays if the Foxes complete the fairytale.
"I've never been rich and I took a risk returning to study and building up a debt because of it, so it's well earmarked.”
Now that she's developed an eye for a roughie, she says already thinking about which team she might punt on next season -- not that she's celebrating just yet.
"I mean, it may all go to crap, who knows?"
Seven points clear with three games to play? Sounds like a pretty safe bet.
Newshub.
