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]