Well, Jocelyn's not quite inconsolable, but it's been a down day in the office today.

But if you really think about it, it was pretty much set up since Brooke went home last week: one girl left, and The Davids are in a catfight for first place, and he conveniently mumbles the lyrics, giving America the reason not to vote for him (or for the producers to kick him off). A sad state of affairs all around, people. The betting guide is updated, and Syesha's got crosshairs on her forehead.


And a quick note on the politics front: the rumor today is that Obama's going to declare victory on May 20 in regards to the Democratic nomination, and betUS has him at -800, people. That would mean in order to make any money on him clinching the nomination, you'd have to bet $800 to see anything. Seriously. That's $200 more than my stimulus check, y'all.

Labels: American Idol, Barack Obama, Betting guide, BetUS, Jason Castro, politics

posted by Kari at 12:49 PM

Whatever your political affiliations are (or if you even have any!), you can still make a little dough on all the caucuses and primaries happening right now in the U.S. With every new week brings a new winner, so the odds are changing all the time. It's almost too much to keep up with.

Anyway, the big deal down here in Vegas are the Nevada caucuses happening tomorrow the 19th. Almost all of the candidates have rolled through town in the past couple of weeks, and the Democrats had a debate earlier in the week. You can't turn on the TV without seeing a political ad. It's crazy.

betUS has the odds on this weekend's caucus here in Nevada, for both parties:

Republican Candidate: Mitt Romney (-500), Mick Huckabee (+1500), John McCain (+600), Rudy Guiliani (+1400), Ron Paul (+1400), Fred Thompson (+2500): Romney's got the edge for the Republicans because he's Mormon, and there's a big Mormon base here in southern Nevada-- Las Vegas, despite its present form, was actually founded by Mormons, you know. They love him, and he didn't really have to come down here to represent his campaign.

Democratic Candidate: Hillary Clinton (-160), Barack Obama (+120), John Edwards (+1000): Though Hillary's got the edge, Barack's got the backing of the Culinary Union here in Vegas, which is huge for him. Not to mention there's been controversy with some of the caucus sites being in Strip casinos, which some of the other candidates were not happy about. It'll make this close, but Hillary may just eek it out.

Labels: BetUS, caucuses, Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, politics, presidential election

posted by Kari at 12:32 PM

Wow. I have to say it. I wasn't expecting Hilary to pull it out in New Hampshire. Nobody was. Most people thought that Barack would ride the popularity wave from his surprise Iowa win through the next three or four primaries.

Maybe it was Hilary's more personalized appeal. That's what a lot of people think. Her teary-eyed plea for sure made her more personable. But I think it's more like a public betting trend than that. I think that people really did consider Barack and underdog and a fairy tale. And that means people will want to vote for him because people like the underdog, they like the prince charming who needs a little boost. But then Iowa was a wake up call, and people realized that maybe the underdog could win. And there are some issues with the idea of Barack as President. I mean, there are issues with Hillary as President of the United States, too. But at least we KNOW what those issues are. With Barack, I'm not entirely sure we'd know what we're getting.

What a crazy primary already! Huckabee! Huckabee for goodness sake!

My little brother wants to point out that New Hampshire has never picked a winner. Take that to the bank with you.

Click here to see the most recent odds update on all the candidates.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, politics, presidential election

posted by pregamejocelyn at 2:19 PM

So, I'm perusing the Bodog lines on who will be the official candidate for the Democratic party for U.S. President in 2008. There's a lot to talk about, but here was the thing that was most surprising.

There are odds up for Al Gore. The odds are posted at 5 to 1, which is actually better than John Edwards' odds at 8 to 1.

Al Gore's said over and over and over again that he's not running for office. I know that public opinion tide is that he'll enter at the last minute. Odds seem to suggest that even those in Vegas believe that he'll enter last minute, too. Those are great odds. Great odds. I may even place a small bet on that. $20 would win me $100 if he actually entered the race, and if he entered the race he'd be a sure fire candidate.

I'm just saying. I don't think he'd stab Hillary in the back like that, but then again, some people would argue that he stabbed Bill Clinton in the back during Al Gore's run for the White House previously. Who knows?
Here, if you're wondering, are the current lines of potential Democratic presidential candidates:
Hillary Clinton at 1 to 6
Barack Obama at 12 to 5
Al Gore at 5 to 1
John Edwards at 8 to 1
Dennis Kucinich at 20 to 1
Joseph Biden at 30 to 1
Chris Dodd at 40 to 1
Mike Gravel at 40 to 1
Bill Richardson at 40 to 1
Remainder of the Field at 50 to 1

Labels: al gore, bill clinton, Hillary Clinton, politics, presidential election

posted by pregamejocelyn at 11:38 AM

We've been so busy with everything else this week, we forgot to let you in on Hillary Clinton's odds to take the White House!

Last weekend she posted a video on her website declaring that she was forming an Exploratory Committee to create a campaign for the 2008 presidential election. She said she's "In it to win" the White House in 2008, vying to become the first female president of the United States.

A full listing of all the possible contenders, both Republican and Democrat, are currently at Sportbet. They have Hillary at 250 over their current Republican front runner John McCain at 350. Right now, the books are clearly in her favor. Do you think she's going to win? Then bet on her now so you can make some cash later down the road!

The books are divided (or indecisive) about either party's chances of taking the White House, no matter who they choose as their candidate. (Remember, Barack Obama is still thinking about making a bid! And Rudy Guiliani may still throw his hat in!) Sportbet has the Dems and Repubs both at -125, which is an even race for now. Over at betED, though, it's a different story. They have the Dems winning with the better odds of -150. They have the under, which means with the Republicans at +200, that means they like the Democrats winning it all outright.

You can see all the odds from all our books on our Political Props/'08 Presidential Election page!

For betED's props: Click on a prop, then click "Sportsbook," then on the left side of the page, click "Props/TV/Awards," under "Proposition."
For Sportbet's props: (Click on a prop, then click "Live Lines," then scroll to the bottom of the page TO "Other Sports Events and Odds."

Labels: Hillary Clinton, politics, presidential election

posted by Kari at 1:53 PM

I probably won't be up at 5:30 in the morning for the Oscar nominations, but make sure you check back for your complete betting guide to the Oscars, happening as soon as odds are up!

In the meantime, it's a busy week! Week 2 of American Idol, Hilary's "In it to win," and David Beckham are gonna be making appearances this week.

Get ready to make some real cocktail cash in the next month, it's gonna be crazy!

Labels: American Idol, David Beckham, Oscars, politics, presidential election

posted by Kari at 4:20 PM

There are so many people officially throwing their hat into the ring for the '08 presidential election, it's hard to keep track of it all. The news this week is that the governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, will be making a bid for the White House by the end of January. And, of course, we have your odds on how he might fare.

Sportbet has his odds of winning the whole shebang at +1800, which aren't the best odds in the world, but you never know. Being from New Mexico and being of Hispanic decent, his opinions on immigration could up or lower his chances for winning.

He's a Democrat, and betED has the Democratic Party winning the presidency at -150, which are good odds. Even if Richardson doesn't win, this would be your hedge bet for the next year and a half.

A couple of options, but if you're feeling lucky, get your cash in now before the odds change drastically!

Labels: betED, politics, presidential election, Sportbet

posted by Kari at 3:09 PM

The mid-term elections are next week, so our friends over at betED put up a couple of odds about next week's election:

Democrats Win the Majority in the Senate
Yes +175
No -240

Democrats win the Majority of the House
Yes -220
No +160

Everything is back and forth lately, with all the scandals and talking and campaigning. You never know what a couple of bucks could get for you next week! Check it out!

Labels: politics

posted by Kari at 1:36 PM

betED.com Sees if Public likes Bush

With this year’s U.S. midterm elections expected to be the most expensive ever, there’s certainly a lot riding on the results.

Even bettors can have something riding on who will emerge the victor in the Nov. 7 elections, as www.betED.com is offering odds on the Democrats to win the majority of the House and Senate.

The odds available at www.betED.com for the Democrats to win the majority of the Senate are +100, and -150 to not win. For the House, The Democrats are at -125 to either win or not win.

The November 7 congressional race will be the most-expensive midterm election yet, with spending reaching about $2.6bn, said a non-partisan group that tracks US campaign spending.

The year "2006 will be the most-expensive election for US congress", said Sheila Krumholz, acting executive director of the Centre for Responsive Politics which tracks the influence of money on elections and public policy.

The group's research has found that spending by candidates in the November 2006 race represents an 18% increase on the last midterm congressional election in 2002.
"Money in this campaign has been flowing fast and furiously," said Krumholz on Tuesday in a telephone news conference.

She said the $2.6bn spending projection was a "conservative estimate" that could turn out to be even higher by Election Day.

"Candidates still in the running for house have risen on average about $760 000, while senate candidates have raised $5.8m since 2001," Krumholz said of the study released exactly two weeks before Election Day.

"Incumbent senators have a four-to-one advantage on their challengers on average; house incumbents have out-raised their challengers seven-to-one," she said.

The Democratic Party remains the most popular political organization before next month’s congressional ballot in the United States, according to a poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates released by Newsweek. 51 per cent of respondents would vote for the Democratic contender in their district, while 37 per cent would support the Republican candidate.

For more info, check out www.betED.com.

Labels: politics

posted by Kari at 2:03 PM

The Mark Foley scandal in Washinton has ruffled a lot of feathers, and politicians on both sides of the political spectrum are asking for House Speaker Dennis Hastert's resignation for keeping the scandal under wraps for so long.

Here's some current events-type action you can bet on right now over at Bodog: Will House Speaker Dennis Hastert resign from his position as Speaker of the House by October 31st, 2006?

Yes +390
No -680


He's already had a press conference to publically announce that he has no intention of resigning, but if he's given enough pressure over the next few weeks, could he buckle?

Labels: politics

posted by Kari at 12:27 PM

Bush's administration gets more re-arranging than Pamela Anderson's breasts. Seriously. Even today, the Director of the CIA resigned out of nowhere. What's up with that?

At Bodog you can bet on which member of Bush's cabinet is going to be replaced first.

Treasury Secretary John W. Snow is at even money. Though, with all the tough questions about the Iraq WMDs being thrown at Donald Rumsfeld, you might want to hedge your bets. He's at 6/1.

You never know, your political savvy could get you a little cash.

Labels: politics

posted by Kari at 1:44 PM

Look, like with any President, there's a lot we could point to that's very, very wrong. But does anybody else think that maybe this domestic spying thing isn't really that big of a deal? Does it maybe seem like we said "Find a better way to identify domestic terrorism before it happens" and then a couple of years later we said "NO! That's not what we meant." Ponder. Discuss.

Since he's in the news, I thought you might want to know that you can bet on whether Osama Bin Laden will get captured while "W" is in office. Because some people have a conspiracy theory and whatnot. To find the bet, just use the drop down in the upper left hand corner at Sports Interaction and select "Specials" and then "Politics"near the bottom of the drop down. You may actually be a little surprised at the odds (and remember, if you're new to betting, we explain how to read the SIA odds right here).

Click to check out the odds now!

Labels: politics

posted by pregamejocelyn at 12:35 PM

I swear I will return to breaking down the odds on the 08 Presidential election soon, soon, soon. But in the meantime, I thought you might want to know that if you are a BELIEVER that Hilary and Condi could be the two tickets in 08, you can bet it at Sports Interaction at an odds price of 11.00. Let's review. 11.00. What this means is that the lines makers at Sports Interaction believe it's a reasonably good chance that this can actually happen. As comparison:

Rudolph Guiliani is the Sports Interaction favorite to be the Republican nominee. And his odds are 3.2. So Sports Interaction essentially is saying it's only 4x more unlikely than Rudolph Guiliani getting his all-but-already-promised Republican nomination that Hilary and Condi will be the ticket.

I think it's about 100x less likely. And I'm a person who'd like to see them both be on the ticket.

To see all the political betting odds at Sports Interaction, open the drop-down menu in the upper left corner and scroll to the "Specials" section at the very end. "Politics" is the second to the last one.

It could happen. I guess.

Labels: politics, presidential election

posted by pregamejocelyn at 2:08 PM