Hewson
Blue Crack Supplier
Interesting article from Today's Boston Herald:
For all you Rob and Ambah haters, be sure that CBS loved them, their presence is the reason this was th highest rated "Amazing Race" to date.
‘Amazing’ but true: Bettors knew who’d win the ‘Race’
By Sean L. McCarthy
Thursday, May 12, 2005 - Updated: 03:42 AM EST
Uchenna and Joyce Agu's Tuesday night victory on ``The Amazing Race'' shouldn't surprise anyone.
After all, offshore gambling site Sportsbook.com suspended online wagering for the CBS ``reality'' hit back in March when unidentified Boston and Los Angeles bettors flooded the site with $500 maximum bets overnight on the Houston couple.
``We know precisely who placed those bets,'' said Sportsbook.com's marketing director, Alex Czajkowski, by phone yesterday. ``But when a customer makes a bet with us, it's entirely confidential.''
The site honored the wagers - including those made in the 12-hour period of March 3-4. Czajkowski said CBS never contacted him to investigate the bets.
``CBS would barely acknowledge we exist,'' he said.
The network had no comment.
The seventh installment of the Emmy-winning ``Race'' was also its most-watched, with more than 16 million viewers tuning into Tuesday's finale.
It's not the first time insider information has skewed betting on a ``reality'' show: Because the show wraps months before it airs, there are some people out there who know the outcome. BetWWTS.com received suspiciously accurate bets for``The Apprentice,'' ``The Bachelor,'' ``Survivor: Amazon'' and ``Survivor: Pearl Islands.''
``You always run a risk with this `reality TV,' '' Czajkowski said. ``But they do garner a lot of attention, so we're happy to have that stuff on the site.''
Sportsbook.com also offers betting on other conversation starters.
Yesterday's line on ``American Idol'' pegged Carrie Underwood as the 5-7 favorite, with Bo Bice running second at 3-2 odds.
A new line opened this week on the final ``Star Wars'' movie, ``Revenge of the Sith,'' with over/under betting on whether the film grosses $85.5 million in its opening weekend May 19-22.
And Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is the early favorite to become president in 2008, at 6-1 odds, followed by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at 10-1. Gov. Mitt Romney's odds of becoming president are 30-1, while Sen. John Kerry [related, bio] is running far off the pace at 50-1 - the same odds as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
For all you Rob and Ambah haters, be sure that CBS loved them, their presence is the reason this was th highest rated "Amazing Race" to date.