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The odds of US President Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 turned out to be pretty steep, ranging anywhere from 18/1 to 25/1 depending on the online bookmaker. Paddy Power and BetZoo.com were both offering odds on who would win the coveted prize.
Obama was far from everyone's minds it seems, including the bookies.
Most of them instilled Afghan human rights activist Sima Samar as their favorite to win at 4/1 odds.
Frank Ahrens of the Washington Post points out that President Obama's odds were similar to that of Mordechai Vanunu, a former Israeli nuclear technician who was convicted of treason for exposing state secrets, and folk singer Pete Seeger, composer of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"
Many people, including the President himself, questioned whether he had accomplished enough to be honored with such an award. Supporters of the prize counter it is not only about accomplishment but that the Nobel Peace Prize was created as much to supply momentum for peace as to celebrate it.
Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
