Your one-stop shop for novelty betting

Which cities will be getting a White Christmas in 2009? Berlin? Bonn? Ottawa? Vienna? Bet365 allows you to bet on the weather with the bookmakers’ “Snow on Christmas” proposition bet.

James Bond movie no. 23 is set for a 2011 release and Daniel Craig still holds the role. With “Quantum of Solace” returning relatively dismal box office after the success that was “Casino Royale,” whispers (and odds!) have begun about just who will be playing 007 number seven…

Who will next record a Michael Jackson remake song that hits No. 1 on the UK BBC Radio 1 chart? Paddy Power’s got Janet Jackson and/or the Jackson 5 as odds-on favorites, but Live Bets Direct kinda like the possibilities inherent in Usher, especially at 10/1…

So which of these is more inevitable: The huge Hollywood biopic on Michael Jackson probably already the subject of dozens of pre-pre-pre-production meetings or Paddy Power bookmakers offering a cheeky novelty bet on the subject?

“In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team.”

All that may have changed – and BetUS offers you the bet it might have – in late May with Microsoft’s release of Bing.com, an alternative search engine locked into new Internet Explorer 6 browsers. Even with Microsoft backing the enterprise, though, how popular can a search engine David be against the Googliath? You might be surprised enough to pony up a bit.

As for the proposition bet itself, it’s entitled “Which lake will the ladies dip in?” and inspired by, as the Paddy puts it, the decision to relocate from initial choice Rosses Point “because of the threat of peeping Toms!” Explains Action Breast Cancer PR: “The exact location of the dip will be confirmed to participants the night before by text to maintain mystery and try to ensure privacy.”

The honeymoon may definitely be over for the Barack Obama Adminstration, but bookmakers are apparently seeing little reason to reflect any dramatic changes in the proposition odds for Election 2012. The past month or two has seen the Obamanation’s afterglow dampen significantly, with a lowlight reel that includes indignities such as Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s standup comedy routine in China, the federalization of General Motors, Joe Biden’s tipmongering for the bird flu-caused apocalypse, and the presidentially sponsored hemorrhaging of federal money with no obvious improvement to the job market.

Intertops is offering this prop bet until June 14th, which should provide an excellent opportunity to eliminate some possibilities for those with faith in patterns: Both summer heat waves became notable by mid-June. As July is Berlin (and Germany)’s hottest month traditionally by about 1.5⁰C over June and August. In Deutschland, a hot June often indicates hotter July.

The story cut into this month’s cinema newswires like Max Cady on crack: Music and movie fans (not to mention musical movie fans) were certainly stoked to hear that Universal Studios had acquired the rights to shoot a biographical movie on Ratpacker and Ronny Reagan buddy Frank Sinatra; better yet, studio moguls announced that Martin Scorsese was tabbed as director for the flick.