American Idol Betting Hits Fever Pitch: Online Bookmakers Report Results
The final installment of the American Idol Season four competition concludes Wednesday night with announcement of winner while bookmakers and gamblers hope to cash in.
Miami Beach, FL (PRWEB) May 25, 2005 -- Regardless of the outcome, one thing
is for sure. American Idol Season Four will go down as the biggest single
entertainment prop betting event and the excitement continued following a final
showdown between hopefuls Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood.
"Sports911.com
was recording between three and seven searches for American Idol betting odds
per minute after the Tuesday night airing," commented www.Sports911.com founder and
President Christopher Costigan.
Following the final performances, www.PinnacleSports.com
continued to offer odds on American Idol. That sportsbook upped its wagering
limits on this event to an unprecedented $10,000, the first time such an event
has ever been offered for these high limits. Of course minimum wagers are just
$10 at PinnacleSports.com.
A typical bet on American Idol or other similar
type wagers usually sits somewhere between $5 and $65.
Commenting on
behalf of PinnacleSports.com, that company's head of Media Affairs, Kyle
Fratini, elaborated on just how big a betting event American Idol had become at
his online gambling firm.
"Pinnacle’s policy not to disclose any turnover
numbers for any events," Fratini informed Sports911.com. "What I can tell you is
that this American Idol is easily the most popular entertainment event the
company has ever accepted wagers on."
Likewise, www.Bodog.com continued to offer
betting odds on American Idol after the Tuesday night episode concluded. That
company featured odds of eight to five for Carrie Underwood and one to five for
Bo Bice, even after judge Simon Cowell expressed that Underwood could win this
competition. She pays $8 for every $5 bet while Bice pays $1 for every $5
bet.
For much of the season, Underwood was listed as the favorite to win
the competition. Bo Bice has slowly crept up from behind over the weeks. A first
ever American Idol a cappella performance by Bice last week helped catapult him
to "favored" status.
Going into Tuesday evening, Bodog.com had 2460 bets
placed on Underwood for a total amount of $82,520. Bice had 2880 bets for a
total of $96,730. Vonzell Solomon, the last contestant to be knocked out of the
competition, had $14,750 in wagers placed on her from 610 Bodog.com customers.
Interestingly enough, Constantine Maroulis, a favorite among the judges, had
nearly the same amount of money wagered on him as Solomon - $14,240 - but with
nearly 300 more people betting than Solomon - a total of 930.
Even www.BetRoyal.com, which has not
heavily promoted it American Idol betting odds, reported to Sports911.com 130
bets for a grand total of $26,000. The last three days brought in just over
$3000 with the adjusted odds.
A handful of other bookmakers offered
betting odds on American Idol Season Four.
"We had almost double the
action on American Idol as we did on Survivor," Bodog.com founder and CEO Calvin
Ayre related to Sports911 from Cannes, France.
Easily there will be over
a million dollars wagered on American Idol Season 4, especially with
PinnacleSports.com offering maximum limits of $10,000.
It was not known
how long Bodog.com would continue offering odds on American Idol since voting
only took place the four hours immediately following the show.
PinnacleSports.com had removed odds by 10:30 pm EST, though they continued to
appear intermittently.
About Sports911.com
Sports911.com is recognized
as the leader in online gambling and sports betting information around the
world. As a portal begun in 2000 dedicated exclusively to covering internet
gambling, Sports911.com has since expanded into various other arenas that has
since led to a tremendous surge in readership over the past year. Sports911.com
provides all the latest celebrity betting props and exotic wagering
opportunities.
For more information visit www.sports911.com.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb244519.htm