Jan 29 2009
Bookmakers Take Bets on Oscars
Some people bet on sports, some on blackjack, or any other casino games.
Nevertheless, every year there is always a large betting market for the highlight of the cinematic year, the Academy Awards, that is the Oscars.
William Hill’s film expert has been making odds on the awards for years. Moreover, he is right more often than not. The living proof is that he has successfully predicted who the Best Director statue will go to before it is announced.
“The biggest prizes have never looked as settled as they do this year,” a spokesman for the company said to a major London newspaper. “There are normally at least two contenders for each award but this year the favourites are all nailed on.”
“Slumdog Millionaire” is matched at 2/7 to take the Best Picture award while 13-times-nominated “The Curious Case” of Benjamin Button is matched at odds of 4/1.
Kate Winslet is a 8/15 favorite to pick up her first Oscar for “The Reader”. She broke records at age 22 for being the youngest actress to pick up two nominations so for her, a win is long overdue.
Kate Winslet has attracted 10 times more money than her nearest rival in the betting for the best actress Oscar, it was announced today.
The 33-year-old British actress has already won both a Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice award for Best Supporting Actress for “The Reader”, in which she plays a Nazi concentration camp guard who has an affair with a teenager.
Winslet also has a BAFTA nomination for the part.
British bookmaker Ladbrokes has moved her Oscar odds from 5/4 to even money as backers have flooded in lately.
Her closest competitors appear to be Anne Hathaway at 6/4 and Meryl Streep at 5/1, with outsiders Angelina Jolie at 12/1 and Melissa Leo at 14/1.
Spokesman Robin Hutchison said: “We have seen bits and bobs for Hathaway and Jolie but Winslet is the one they all want to be with at the moment.”
It is believed a victory for Winslet could cost bookmakers as much as Helen Mirren did when “The Queen” was successful in 2006.
Mickey Rourke is now 4/5 from evens to claim the Best Actor gong after he also came in for strong support.
The Oscars take place on February 22.
