A 91-year-old has lost a $887 bet on his life.

Arthur King-Robinson bet on odds of 6/1 that he would be dead by the end of the first week of December, a bookmaker says Saturday.

He says he placed the bet at the start of the year because his wife would have faced an inheritance tax bill of 3000 pounds before the December deadline, reports Reuters

"I thought I'd heard most things that people want to bet on after 30 years in the business," says Graham Sharpe, spokesman for bookmaker William Hill. "But one asking literally to place a dead cert was unique. I'm glad Arthur has lost."

King-Robinson was afraid his wife Cynthia, 85, would have to sell their home of 50 years if she had to pay the tax bill.

"I lost my 500 pounds -- but it gave me peace of mind," he says.