After a career in the gaming industry spanning four and a half decades, Graham Sharpe is saying goodbye to William Hill. The company’s dynamic official spokesman recently announced that he was made, “redundant,” and will be moving on to new ventures.
News of Graham’s departure was initially reported by Gambling911.com late yesterday.
While the parting of ways seems amiable, the longtime fixture at one of the UK’s biggest bookmakers was initially shocked by the news. “It all happened rather quickly. It all happened rather quickly. On May 1, my 45-year, one-month, three-day career at William Hill was over,” he said in an interview with Gambling911.
While many international readers may not be familiar with Sharpe’s face, most everyone is familiar with his innovations. Sharpe is widely credited as the father of the novelty bet.
In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, Sharpe worked in William Hill’s marketing department where he introduced the novel concept of betting on events outside of the sporting world. His most notable success in this category was spearheading a campaign based on, “Who Shot JR?,” based on the then-popular TV series “Dallas.”
Sharpe also helped develop William Hill’s political betting markets, market that remain active to this day.
Though Sharpe was not expecting his release from William Hill, he’s anticipating an active retirement and will still retain ties to his former employer. “I am happy to consider freelance commissions for political betting stories and will continue my book-writing career,” he said. “I have written 30 books and counting.