Prince William and Kate Middleton will tie the knot next year and, whether the Royal Family likes it or not, operators of sportsbooks and sports betting fans will play a part - peripheral though it may be--in nearly every nuptial decision made between now and April 29, 2011.
Long known for their willingness to post prices and accept wagers on events that have nothing to do with sports (but are part of the "sports betting" dossier), British sportsbooks are offering odds on a variety of topics surrounding the Royal Wedding.
For example, you can get 10/3 odds that the color of the hat Queen Elizabeth wears to the wedding is blue. Pink is the second choice at odds of 5/1 and bettors have 17 color choices, overall, including shades that sound more like food items (apricot, cream) than hues. Black, a color generally worn at funerals, is the 22/1 longshot.
You also can bet on the color (or "colour" as the Brits prefer) of Kate's dress. Traditional white is just the third choice at odds of 11/4, trailing ivory, the 10/11 favorite, and cream, the 9/4 second choice. Almond and champagne are next on most future books at odds of 16/1 each and if you're wondering who decides the difference between cream and champagne—both seem like "beige" to us--so are we. Colors we understand, such as brown and green, are the longshots, at 66/1 each.
Not only is the wedding dress a state secret but so is the length of its train. UK sportsbooks make two-five meters the 5/4 favorite with under two meters the 3/2 second choice. More than five meters to eight meters is offered at odds of 4/1 while over eight meters is not just the longest train but the longest shot, at odds of 8/1.
The odds are 1/6 that the bouquet is caught and 7/2 that it's dropped. Sorry, no instant replay will be available but there is a prop on just how many viewers watch the wedding on the BBC. Rather than a strict over/under, the prop is indexed with gaps for every two millions viewers. Less than 26 million viewers is the 4/7 favorite with 26-28 million viewers the 4/1 second choice. The longshot is 34-36 million TV watchers.
UK sportsbooks aren't reluctant to get a little "cheeky," as they say, so there's a proposition on whether the couple will be divorced by 2020—you get 10/1 on "Yes"—as well as another intriguing prop on whether Kate will use the word "obey" in her vows. The odds on that one are nearly pick 'em with "Yes" a slight 10/11 underdog to "No," the 4/5 favorite.
You get odds of 2/1 that William and Kate produce an heir within one year of their marriage and 10/11 either way that the offspring is male or female. Irrespective of gender, it's 3/2 that the infant is born with brown hair; 3/1 that blond/e prevails, 3/1 that the child has ginger colored tresses and 10/3 that the future monarch has black hair. We couldn't find a price for "bald," which seems odd, especially if you consider the pate of grand dad Prince Phillip.
The over/under on total children for the couple is 2 1/2 with "under" listed as the 8/13 favorite and "over" quoted at odds of 6/5.
Prince Harry is an overwhelming 1/25 favorite to be the Best Man while odds on how many bridesmaids Kate will have run from 5/2 on her having three attendants to 33/1 that there's just one bridesmaid.
There are four dozen choices for the couple's honeymoon site including Kenya, the 9/2 favorite. France, Scotland and South Africa also are popular destinations and you can get 100/1 on the couple heading to Las Vegas (yeah, right) and 125/1 on them making like Super Bowl MVPs and going to Disneyland.
The location of William's bachelor party—called a stag night—on the other side of The Pond, also is up for wagering supposition. Scotland is the 10/11 favorite with London the second choice at odds of 5/4. Oddsmakers feel Las Vegas is far more suitable for a bachelor party than a Royal Wedding (duh) and have listed SinCity at 12/1 to host the Prince's party.
While it's not exactly the World Cup or the Super Bowl, the Royal Wedding does provide another interesting diversion for sports betting fans.
This article was written by Luken Karel for http://www.thegreek.com. The Greek Sportsbook & Casino is host to one of the top online sportsbooks offering college football betting and sports betting on NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and all other major sports. The Greek is a must have sports betting and entertainment portal with one of the largest wagering menus available online. Article reproductions must include a link pointing to http://www.thegreek.com
