START TO THE NEW YEAR IS JUST ACE WITH £298,000 WIN!

One lucky William Hill punter has literally had an ace start to his 2005, winning £298,451.64 playing Blackjack on the bookie's internet Casino, williamhillcasino.com. During one hand, the client, from London, paid just £1 extra to qualify for a shot at the 'progressive jackpot' - where the cash pot keeps building until one lucky player wins it. To win the pool, a player needs four consecutive Aces of the same colour and he could hardly believe his luck as he turned over Ace Diamonds, Ace Hearts, Ace Diamonds then the final winning Ace of Hearts, so scooping the big prize.

The winner, who doesn't want to be identified, is obviously delighted with his big windfall just after Christmas and commented "It's certainly a great start to the New Year, although I'm not sure what I'm going to spend the money on yet - I don't think it will sink in until I see the money in my bank account!"

Spokeswoman for William Hill, Jennie Prest, said, "The great thing about these games is that, as much as playing them is really good fun, the progressive jackpots gives anyone a chance to win really big, and we are delighted for our client. We currently have over £1,000,000 in progressive jackpots in the Casino, including Millionaires' Club which is a record £438,000! With progressive jackpots running through many of our games, I'm sure there will be a few more big winners enjoying the New Year soon too!"