Blonk 6OTB

6 of the Best – Pinnacle’s Ben Cronin

This week’s 6 of the Best comes from Ben Cronin, Head of Content Marketing at Pinnacle.

Continue reading to discover who was an unlikely hero in the Hammers’ Premier League return, which iconic film director never disappoints and who triumphed in a favourite album dilemma.

Best Holiday

I would like to be able to recall some great tales of adventure to answer this question, but unfortunately my travels have been fairly boring in comparison to most (I’ve barely ventured outside of the continent). That said, Europe is a beautiful place, and my trip to Sorrento a couple of years ago was the perfect mix of soaking up the sun and hiking in the hills.

I don’t know if it classes as a holiday but I did a six month volunteer project in Ghana when I was 18, and I still regard that as one of the best experiences of my life.

Best Album

This is a bit tougher than I thought – yes, I’m one of those people who usually provide a cop out answer like “I like everything”. I guess I’d have to go with Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division.

In addition to classics like Disorder, Shadow Play and Transmission, Unknown Pleasures features one of my favourite songs of all-time – She’s Lost Control. I also love the idea of Stephen Morris using aerosol spray as a drumbeat (which apparently can be heard on the 12” version of the album).

Best Sporting Experience

This one’s easy. I’ve been a fan of West Ham United all my life, and while I’ve experienced plenty of downs in my time, there have also been a few ups. In 2012 I was fortunate enough to watch the Championship Play-Off Final against Blackpool at Wembley.

After a nerve racking 87 minutes, Ricardo Vaz Te scored a scrappy goal to earn West Ham a 2-1 win and a return to the Premier League – I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling of celebrating that goal.

Best Film

Nowadays I find myself watching more documentaries and TV series’ rather than films. I guess it depends on how I’m feeling, as you would probably get a different answer to this depending on when you asked. That said, you can’t go wrong with a good Christopher Nolan film.

I’d probably go for The Prestige, but Momento and Inception really aren’t that far behind. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who hasn’t seen it, but no matter how much you think you know Christopher Nolan, he always has a surprise in store.

Best Book

While I enjoy reading non-fiction books (especially when the subject matter is related to betting or sport), I studied Creative Writing at university so will always have a soft spot for fiction.

I’m a massive fan of Haruki Murakami, I’m into double figures for his books but my favourite has to be Norwegian Wood. Anyone who’s read Murakami’s books will know you go through a rollercoaster of emotions, and Norwegian Wood is exactly that.

Best Bet

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt after working for Pinnacle it’s that betting is incredibly difficult. Plenty of people kid themselves into thinking they are skilled bettors when really it’s just a game of luck. So while it might not be my best bet, the ten-fold accumulator I won while studying at university was certainly the luckiest.

I would regularly put £5 on a Saturday accumulator to make the games my team wasn’t involved in a bit more interesting, and one day the stars aligned and I pocketed just over £3,000 after correctly predicting ten results across the English leagues.

Check Also

SBC News Genius Sports and DataCo enter talks to extend exclusive football data supply deal

Genius Sports and DataCo enter talks to extend exclusive football data supply deal

Genius Sports Inc has entered a period of negotiations to extend its official betting data …

SBC News CMS Committee: PL ‘must go further’ than White Paper gambling ad proposals

CMS Committee: PL ‘must go further’ than White Paper gambling ad proposals

MPs have urged that the Premier League and other sports governing bodies should commit to …

SBC News Metric Trader's Outlook: Preparing for the festive fixtures

Metric Trader’s Outlook: Preparing for the festive fixtures

For traders, Christmas represents a hectic Premier League fixture pile-up, with teams playing three games …