Bet on your (own) Life: Cancer patient makes odds on his mortality

When doctors notified Briton Jon Matthews that he was terminally ill with Mesothelioma -- a form of cancer linked to contact with asbestos -- the odds were against him. Most people with that kind of cancer don't live past 25 months. So he geared up for an end. That was in 2006.

But just after he finalized his will and paid for the funeral, he thought of a profit-making opportunity. Matthews placed a bet at his local betting shop that he would still be alive in June of 2008 and June of 2009.

Yesterday the widower collected his second payout: £5,000.