2009 Oscar Pick: Gambling Site Says The Reader Could Shock

Nominees for Best Film have shocked in the past (witness Crash just a few years back).  Hence the reason why online gambling website BetUS.com is suggesting one 2009 Oscar pick few will dare to touch.  At +3000 odds, The Reader would pay out a whopping $3000 for every $100 bet should it win "Best Picture".

And what's to stop this from happening?

Yeah, we know, everyone's money is already on Slumdog Millionaire, which is now the huge -900 favorite.  You would have to bet $90 just to win $10 (you get back your $90 bet plus the $10 profit should Slumdog Millionaire win the award).  But did you know that a mere $1 bet pays $30 on The Reader?  $10 pays $300. 

"This might be a hard bet to pass up," explains Gambling911.com's Payton O'Brien.  "You just have to be willing to part with whatever money you're putting down because the odds are so long for The Reader to win, yet a $100 bet pays the average person's salary for a month.  Somethine to think about."

The oddsmakers at BetUS.com are certainly thinking about it.

BetUS.com representative Charles Jay:

"This film has a lot of things going for it. One of them is the performance of Kate Winslet, which won a supporting actress award at the Golden Globes and had the strength to garner an Oscar nod that nosed out her turn in ‘Revolutionary Road.' Another thing that can't be forgotten in a year when Hollywood will almost certainly be posthumously honoring Heath Ledger with Best Supporting Actor after his death is the fact that two of the producers of ‘The Reader' were well-loved veteran directors Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella, Oscar-winners who both died this past year. This is the kind of thing the Academy could honor them for. Finally, this film was put out by Harvey Weinstein's company, and anyone who follows the Hollywood game realizes how successful Weinstein has been in getting his films and actors recognized with statues. the word is that he is campaigning very hard for this one, to the point of doing an underhanded thing or two. Gee Harvey, so it ain't so!

"There is no doubt that ‘Slumdog Millionaire' is a very worthy favorite, and Danny Boyle is a front-runner to win Best Director. What bothered me a little, though, was that Dev Patel couldn't get himself an acting nomination. Maybe what one critic said is true - that in terms of the hype, the Slumdog may have peaked. My guess is that if there is any point in the ceremony where mouths would be agape, it will be when ‘The Reader' overcomes 30/1 BetUS odds to bring home the bacon."

Jay adds:  "Hey, don't we bet long shots at the track?"

Jordan Bach, Gambling911.com

  Nominees for Best Film have shocked in the past (witness Crash just a few years back).  Hence the reason why online gambling website BetUS.com is suggesting one 2009 Oscar pick few will dare to touch.  At +3000 odds, The Reader would pay out a whopping $3000 for every $100 bet should it win "Best Picture".

And what's to stop this from happening?

Yeah, we know, everyone's money is already on Slumdog Millionaire, which is now the huge -900 favorite.  You would have to bet $90 just to win $10 (you get back your $90 bet plus the $10 profit should Slumdog Millionaire win the award).  But did you know that a mere $1 bet pays $30 on The Reader?  $10 pays $300. 

"This might be a hard bet to pass up," explains Gambling911.com's Payton O'Brien.  "You just have to be willing to part with whatever money you're putting down because the odds are so long for The Reader to win, yet a $100 bet pays the average person's salary for a month.  Somethine to think about."

The oddsmakers at BetUS.com are certainly thinking about it.

BetUS.com representative Charles Jay:

"This film has a lot of things going for it. One of them is the performance of Kate Winslet, which won a supporting actress award at the Golden Globes and had the strength to garner an Oscar nod that nosed out her turn in ‘Revolutionary Road.' Another thing that can't be forgotten in a year when Hollywood will almost certainly be posthumously honoring Heath Ledger with Best Supporting Actor after his death is the fact that two of the producers of ‘The Reader' were well-loved veteran directors Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella, Oscar-winners who both died this past year. This is the kind of thing the Academy could honor them for. Finally, this film was put out by Harvey Weinstein's company, and anyone who follows the Hollywood game realizes how successful Weinstein has been in getting his films and actors recognized with statues. the word is that he is campaigning very hard for this one, to the point of doing an underhanded thing or two. Gee Harvey, so it ain't so!

"There is no doubt that ‘Slumdog Millionaire' is a very worthy favorite, and Danny Boyle is a front-runner to win Best Director. What bothered me a little, though, was that Dev Patel couldn't get himself an acting nomination. Maybe what one critic said is true - that in terms of the hype, the Slumdog may have peaked. My guess is that if there is any point in the ceremony where mouths would be agape, it will be when ‘The Reader' overcomes 30/1 BetUS odds to bring home the bacon."

Jay adds:  "Hey, don't we bet long shots at the track?"

Jordan Bach, Gambling911.com