London 2012: Who Wants To Carry Hot Flames For Miles?

filed under Event Betting : Olympics

Let us be the first to remind you that OJ Simpson carried the Olympic Torch in 1984 and a goddamn windsurfer lit the flame in Athens 2004. So you figure the Opening Ceremony can’t sink any lower. Wanna lay money on it? Paddy Power and Bet365 offer you props galore on who will light London’s Olympic flame in 2012. Paddy Power offers up the hard-drinking, wife-beating soccer lout Paul “Gazza” Gascoigne at 150/1 and the almighty crash-test dummy of ski jumping, Eddy “The Eagle” Edwards at 500/1. Bet 365 suggests Brit bashing French Premier Jacque Chirac at 500/1 and darts god Phil “The Power” Taylor at 125/1 (Oddjack). Phil’s probably been shorted in those odds – we’ve seen his picture and we’re not sure he should climb the bleachers without a defibrillator on hand. Meanwhile, Tony Blair (100/1) and George Bush (1000/1) are what we call outsiders – we’re afraid we’ll be eating lunch when bombarded by the visuals of a pasty politico in dolphin shorts. Keep a trash bucket near, just in case.

Who Will Light the Flame at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony? [Paddy Power]
Who Will Light the Olympic Flame in London 2012? [Bet365]

Olympics 2016, Here We Come

filed under Event Betting : Olympics

Still stunned by the shocking upset of London over Paris for the 2012 Olympics? Yes. We are too. That’s why we’ve decided to not listen to anybody anymore when it comes to Olympic oddsmaking. But the sweetest success comes on thedirty heels of many, many colossal failures and right now, we’re gearing up for the 2016 Olympics. And that’s why the lovable luckies at Paddy Power will always have our heart because they feel the same way. So, buck up New York, Madrid, Moscow, and Paris. Your time will come again soon.

Olympic 2016 Betting [Paddy Power]

Olympic 2012 Betting: KICK OUT THE JAMS

filed under Event Betting : Olympics

Oddschecker Market Movers Update—

The big gamble on London winning the 2012 Olympics was landed on Wednesday afternoon.After Madrid, New York and Moscow were eliminated in the first three rounds, it left London in a head-to-head showdown with Paris.And to the delight of punters who backed Seb Coe’s bid team, it was London whose name was called out. “Thousands of punters who believed Lord Coe could deliver the Olympics will enjoy spending their winnings after London was backed from 4/1 down to 7/4 in the last forty eight hours of the race,” said Hills spokesman Graham Sharpe.Coral revealed that the win for London was great news all round. “The French capital had been favourite since we opened betting, and although support came for London in the last 72 hours, we’re still celebrating along with everyone else that the games are coming to Britain,” said Coral’s David Stevens.Hills calculated that one million pounds was gambled on the outcome and expect an explosion of bets when the games actually take place in 2012. “In 2004, Britain’s bookies took more than £10 million in bets on the Athens Olympics,” said Sharpe. “It is safe to say that London in 2012 will become a betting bonanza and we expect up to a ten-fold increase which means punters may well gamble a hundred million pounds.” Hills have opened a book on just what will be happening in the capital when the Olympics get underway in 2012. Punters can bet that Chelsea will be reigning Premiership Champions (5/2), Tony Blair will still be Prime Minster (20/1), Ken Livingstone will be Mayor (50/1); Euro will be the national currency (3/1); an edition of Big Brother will be on air (6/4) and that the Olympics will feature a new sport - Poker (50/1).

London Awarded 2012 Olympic Games [Yahoo]
Olympic Betting 2012 [William Hill]

London Odds Shortened Again—Upset or Illusion?

filed under Event Betting : Olympics

So, the latest odds update show that London’s were cut once again today closing the gap between itself and Paris for the winning Olympic 2012 bid which will be announced at approximately 7:30 a.m. tomorrow on MSNBC. London is currently at 5/2 from Centrebet and Paris is still at 1/2. New York has been scaled back to 66/1 making it entirely pointless for former Olympian Nadia Comaneci to pull herself together and start stumping for New York this late in the game. But beware of bookmakers moving the line to get away from the heavy Paris action—no nightvision recording equipment required.

London Olympic 2012 Odds Cut Again [Readabet]
Previously: Olympic 2012 Betting: Paris Odds Start to Blur [Oddjack]

Olympic 2012 Betting: Paris Odds Start To Blur

filed under Event Betting : Olympics

There’s a rustling in Paris right now and it’s not the sound of windswept berets blowing off cheese salesmen’s heads. Paris, which was a dominating 1/9 favorite to win the 2012 bid, is now seeing its favorite status dwindling as a late charge by London is making bookmakers antsy. British Bookmaker William Hill shortened the price on London from 7-2 to 9-4. Paris was 4-11. The French capital was 1-9 late last week. And the shagadelic sharps at Ladbrokes, listed London at 3-1 on Monday. It listed Paris at 1-4, drifting from 2-9.
Hill listed Spanish capital Madrid at 10-1, followed by New York and Moscow, each 50-1. Ladbrokes had Madrid at 12-1, New York at 20-1 and Moscow at 50-1.

Odds Shorten on London Bid [News24]
Olympic Specials [Ladbrokes]
2012 Olympic Specials [Readabet]

New York City Embraces Olympic Bid Underdog Role

filed under Event Betting : Olympics

The New York City Olympic bid boosters are getting cute. The new tack of presenting the city as a scrappy underdog—one to which Mayor Michael Bloomberg proclaimed is a city “with heart, a city that can overcome its differences, that can pull together during trying times and will do everything possible to host a great games…” Well, you almost buy it.

But has all of this last minute earnestness affected the lines at all? Not so much. Most online bookmakers still list the city that never smokes in public as 25-1 underdogs to win the bid with Paris still the prohibitive favorite. As a bettor, it would be totally worth it to throw a little bit of money on New York in the coming days up until the selection on July 7th, just to see if this type of pandering does have an impact. But—New York? An underdog? They’ll always be Ivan Drago in the eyes of the world. Sorry guys.

Feisty New York Battles on Despite Poor Odds [Reuters]
2012 Olympic Games: Winning Bid [Best Betting]

IOC Tight Vote Could Mean Splinter of Hope for NYC

filed under Event Betting : Olympics

Without a formal stadium plan still in place, it may be impossible for New York City to make enough of a comeback in time before the formal voting for the 2012 Olympic Games on July 6. But with Paris being Paris and all, London and Madrid may start to see a tiny little flurry of activity in coming days in trades and online betting rooms. Personally, we’d love it if New York would host the Olympics, just so we can see experience what it would be like to have the Puerto Rican Day parade everyday for about a month.

Rogge Expects Very Tight Vote for 2012 Games [Yahoo News]
2012 Olympic Betting Guide [OLBG]

New York 2012: Not Gonna Happen

filed under Event Betting : Olympics

So, New Yorkers who were very excited about the prospect of having their pee-soaked streets inundated with hordes of Olympic athletes in 2012, saw their dreams pretty much evaporate last night. Australian bookmakers Centrebet took the news of state officials rejecting the bid for an Olympic Stadium and adjusted their odds accordingly. Now, New York is a 33-1 longshot dropping them from third to fourth position. Madrid improved to 25-1 following the news and front-running Paris saw its odds improve slightly as well.

The only good news is that Olympic Athletes will most likely not have to carry their shot-puts and javelins on the New York subway system, nor will sprinters be forced to practice their 100 meter hurdle events on homeless people.

Oddsmaker Reacts to New York News [Gamebids.com]
Previously: London Calling 2012 [Oddjack]

London Calling 2012

filed under Event Betting : Olympics

In a swift turn of events— swifter than a rampaging elephant smushing a small farmer in Jalapaiguri—dreery old London is seeing a little uptick in betting action to host the 2012 Olympics. According to Political Betting.com, on the international Tradesports market London’s price moved from the equivalent of about 10/1 to 6/1. The best UK bookmaker price on London is now just 7/2 while the Betfair betting exchange comes in at about 6.2/1. Paris is still the prohibitive favorite at 1/9, however, it’s been rumored that IOC officials may have been served a veiny steak au poivre and didn’t like wearing those funny little hats.

The Money Goes on London [Political Betting]
London to be Host City for 2012 Olympics [Tradesports]

France: Pretty Much a Lock for 2012 Olympics

filed under Event Betting : Olympics

See? Look what happens when you start bombing shit and hyping Freedom fries.

Olympic Bids [Tradesports]