You can bet on almost anything these days but that’s nothing new. For years, people have been betting on whether Lord Lucan will be found alive. However, it now appears he may well be alive and betting on the market will be suspended.
It’s 48 years since Lord Lucan went missing. His disappearance occurred after the 29-year-old nanny Sandra Rivett who he employed was found dead. She’s been bludgeoned to death with a lead pipe at the Belgravia residence that belonged to Lucan. An inquest determined that Lucan was the murderer.
It’s now been claimed that facial recognition technology proves that a man in Australia is the missing Lord Lucan. The 87-year-old British man lies in Brisbane and is a Buddhist. Lucan would also be that age.
Computer scientist Professor Hassan Ugail ran 4,000 cross-checks of seven photographs. Four of those were of Lucan and three of the man living in Australia. The artificial intelligence algorithm used is never wrong, says the Professor who works at Bradford University. Results of over 75% says Ugail proves there is a match and in this case, some were over 80%.
Rupert Adams, who used to work for William Hill and now works as The Posh Pundit commented on the discovery. He said that bookmakers always had a feeling that Lucan might still be alive. That explains why the odds on Lucan being found alive were only 100/1.
Anyone who took those odds (and apparently there have been some significant ones placed) won’t be celebrating just yet. DNA evidence will be the key to making a final decision, not a facial recognition algorithm. There won’t be any payouts by bookmakers but Mr Adams believes “the markets will almost certainly be suspended.”
There have been many ‘sightings’ of Lord Lucan since he disappeared. In the 2000s there were rumours he was in Africa. That led to the odds of him being alive being shortened to 6/1. Then there was ‘Jungle Barry’ in India but rather than him being Lord Lucan, he turned out to be a Northern folk singer. One problem that gamblers will face is the fact Lucan was officially declared dead six years ago.
It’s not just Lord Lucan who bets are placed on. Some gamblers also place wagers on Elvis Presley not being dead. Bookmakers would only pay out on that if the FBI confirmed he was still living. Other strange bets include proof that the Moon landings were a hoax and the Loch Ness Monster being found.
