Bettors Warming to Al Gore for President

21 June 2006

WASHINGTON, DC –- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The odds still favor Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to capture the American Presidency in 2008, but a sizeable number of bettors are gambling on former Vice President Al Gore. Sportsbook.com, the world's largest online sportsbook and casino and first to market with presidential odds, announces updated odds on the 2008 Presidential Election along with the latest betting trends.

With 3-1 odds, Clinton's likely candidacy has been overshadowed in recent weeks by the re-emergence of former Vice President Al Gore as the Democrats' potential nominee. But for a US Supreme Court ruling on the Florida vote in the 2000 election, Gore might have been President of the United States instead of George Bush.

Gore has been outspoken in the last year, sharply criticizing the Bush Administration's handling of the invasion of Iraq and its subsequent efforts to create a stable democracy there. In addition, the success of his recent film, An Inconvenient Truth, has thrust him into the national spotlight as a champion for environmental protection in the face of global warming.

Despite his claims to the contrary, many Washington insiders are anticipating a Gore-Clinton showdown for the Democratic nomination. Odds on Gore winning the 2008 election have jumped markedly from 70-1, when betting opened a year ago, to 20 -1 currently. This significant shift reflects the sizeable increase in bets wagered on Gore over the past six months, a probable reaction to rampant media speculation of a second Gore candidacy. 12.8% of all bets at sportsbook.com are now being wagered on Al Gore compared to 12.5% for Clinton. Most of Gore's support is coming from California and New York where he has respectively received 37% and 47% of all wagers.

Although bettors are evenly divided between Clinton and Gore, a resounding majority believe that the 44th President of the United States will be a Democrat. Nearly 20% more bets are being wagered on Democrat than Republican candidates to win the Presidency in 2008. In the battleground states of California and New York, at least 7% more wagers have been placed on Democratic candidates than Republicans, while in Florida and Texas, at least 12% more wagers have been placed on Republicans.

Among the possible Republican candidates, bettors favor Senator John McCain (R-AZ). Odds on McCain, who lost the Republican nomination to George Bush in 2000, becoming the next American President are currently 6-1. Former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani rounds out the top four with 10-1 odds. Giuliani, a Republican, gained international acclaim for guiding America's largest city through the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Absent from the top four are former favorites, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Cheney, once a favorite with 20-1 odds, has since fallen to 75-1 thanks in part to his dismal approval numbers that have dropped even lower than those of President Bush. Rice, on the other hand, continues to declare that she has no intention of running in 2008. Her odds have plummeted from 25-1 in July of 2005, to 60-1 currently.

"With George W. Bush so unpopular across much of the U.S., everyone is wondering who will get the country back on track," says Alex Czajkowski, Marketing Director, Sportsbook.com. "Of course, every American has an opinion on who is the best person to do this. Everybody bets and everybody wants to have their say on the 44th President of the United States."

Adding to the fun, Sportsbook.com is offering odds on a number of less likely presidential candidates from film director Michael Moore to conservative news personality Bill O'Reilly and California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.