Academy Awards Best Picture Odds Posted  11/17/05

Academy Awards Best Picture Odds Posted by Sportsbook.com, Online sportsbook first to offer odds on 2006 Oscars

HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ - Sportsbook.com is the first company to offer odds on what movie will take home the 78th Oscar for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. According to research conducted by the odds makers, Cinderella Man is the early favorite with odds set at 6-1.

"The Academy Awards is the most highly bet on event outside of the sports world and captivates millions of movie fans around the world. Everybody loves to bet on the Oscars," says Alex Czajkowski, marketing director, Sportsbook.com. "Every year people join office pools and bet on the awards with their friends and coworkers - we're offering another venue for fans to actively participate in one of the most highly watched programs of the year."

Other contenders for the Best Picture Oscar include two films featuring George Clooney - Syriana (8-1), a political thriller based on the global oil industry and Good Night and Good Luck (10-1). Memoirs of a Geisha (10-1), the screen adaptation of Arthur Golden's bestselling novel, Steven Spielberg's Munich (12-1), the story of the assassination of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics and North Country (13-1) round out the top of the list. Several movies have recently lost some of their buzz, including Jarhead (50-1) which has met with mixed reviews from critics.

Sportsbook.com based its odds on research conducted with various entertainment insiders. In the near future, odds will also be made available on the other major categories, including Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director.

"More movies may be added and the odds will certainly be affected by future betting patterns. Especially as some of the yet-to-be released movies are finally out and critics have a better sense of whether those movies are legitimate contenders," added Peter Childs, Odds Maker, Sportsbook.com.

Best Picture odds Previous Best Picture Winners:

Cinderella Man 6-1 2004 Million Dollar Baby

Syriana 8-1 2003 The Lord of the Rings:

Good Night and Good Luck 10-1 Return of the King

Memoirs of a Geisha 10-1 2002 Chicago

Munich 12-1 2001 A Beautiful Mind

North Country 13-1 2000 Gladiator

A History of Violence 15-1 1999 American Beauty

All the Kings Men 20-1 1998 Shakespeare in Love

Brokeback Mountain 20-1 1997 Titanic

Capote 20-1 1996 The English Patient

The Constant Gardener 20-1 1995 Braveheart

Kingdom of Heaven 22-1 1994 Forrest Gump

The New World 25-1 1993 Schindler's List

King Kong 28-1 1992 Unforgiven

Ask the Dust 30-1 1991 The Silence of the Lambs

Crash 30-1 1990 Dances With Wolves

Match Point 30-1 1989 Driving Miss Daisy

Mrs. Henderson Presents 30-1 1988 Rain Man

Walk the Line 30-1 1987 The Last Emperor

Oliver Twist 40-1 1986 Platoon

Rent 40-1 1985 Out of Africa

The Producers 40-1 1984 Amadeus

Broken Flowers 50-1 1983 Terms of Endearment

Derailed 50-1 1982 Gandhi

Jarhead 50-1 1981 Chariots of Fire

Pride and Prejudice 50-1 1980 Ordinary People

Proof 50-1 1979 Kramer vs. Kramer

The Matador 50-1 1978 The Deer Hunter

Three Burials of 1977 Annie Hall

Melquiades Estrada 50-1 1976 Rocky

Harry Potter and 1975 One Flew Over

the Goblet of Fire 75-1 the Cuckoo's Nest

The Chronicles of Narnia 75-1 1974 The Godfather Part II

Get Rich or Die Tryin' 100-1 1973 The Sting

The Family Stone 100-1 1972 The Godfather

Hustle & Flow 250-1 1971 The French Connection

Charlie and the 1970 Patton

Chocolate Factory 500-1 1969 Midnight Cowboy

Star Wars: 1968 Oliver!

Revenge of the Sith 500-1

War of the Worlds 500-1

The 78th Annual Academy Awards take place at 8:00 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, March 5, 2006 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

For a full listing of odds and props, please visit www.sportsbook.com

About Sportsbook.com

Sportsbook.com is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, offering numerous products including sports betting, horse racing, poker, casino and virtual games. It is the flagship US brand of Sportingbet PLC (LSE: SBT). Headquartered in London, England, Sportingbet is the world's leading publicly traded online betting, gambling and gaming company. Sportingbet has been voted number one in the industry for two years in a row by the authoritative eGaming Review Power 50 Survey. Sportingbet also won the 2005 eGaming Award for best US-Focused company as a result of the success of Sportsbook.com. 

SOURCE Sportsbook.com

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