Your one-stop shop for novelty betting

Carrie Prejean has been stripped of her Miss California title; couldn’t have happened to a nicer person, eh? Cleverly enough, BetUS bookmakers was able to capitalize on the next obvious question about The Dethroned One – i.e. What’s next? – with a slew of “Celebrity Props: Carrie Prejean” bets for your gambling perusal.

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.

How about a little currency speculation? No, no high-tech software solutions, nor financial expertise, are necessary to play this game, and the variables are in fact reduced to one. We’re talking another wacky Paddy Power novelty bet here, namely “AUD versus the EUR on 31st December 2009?”

For proper electoral politics junkies like yours truly (not to mention bookmakers Bet365 and Paddy Power, among others), no soon is too soon to start discussing the possibilities for Decision 2012, a.k.a. the next US presidential election. Today, a brief look at the bookies’ lines on the outcome of the Republican primaries.

If this one isn’t tougher than the race for the 2012 bid in which London, Madrid, Paris, New York and Moscow went down to the PR wire with no clear favorite, the 2016 contest has got to be close in excruciating difficulty for the punter.

Particularly amazing is the possibility that Benedict XVI would become just the second pope to visit Britain since that nasty business with King Henry VIII back in the 1530s.

While it may be tempting to consider backing the Labour Party as a 7/2 longshot – after all, it might not take a whole lot of Conservative skullduggery to produce a majority Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition in Parliament – the Conservative lead is pretty massive at present.

…the award has become increasingly politicized – How else to explain winners like F.W. de Klerk, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Al Gore, and especially Henry Kissinger? – but, hey, we’re here to discuss the plausability of nominees and quite possibly the opportunity to make a few Euros here.

You’re definitely covering Barack Jr., by far the most likely name on this entire list and certainly a moniker to be considered for what could well be Mr. Obama’s only son. You also have to like “Martin” and “Joseph” here for the namesaking of the Prez’ role model and Veep…

So what’s the prescient paddy got for us on Obama now? How about some “First Baby Specials”? PaddyPower is offering three prop bets on a three child for Mr. and Mrs. President.