Betting on Orange Is The New Black
LOS ANGELES — For those who need a little more incentive to get invested in the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, American syndicated oddsmaker Benjamin Eckstein says he has a solution: Gamble on it.
LOS ANGELES — For those who need a little more incentive to get invested in the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, American syndicated oddsmaker Benjamin Eckstein says he has a solution: Gamble on it.
While betting money on the Emmys might technically be illegal in some places, it doesn’t mean the odds aren’t worth a glance.
According to Eckstein, HBO’s decision to enter True Detective into the competition as a drama series instead of mini-series is unlikely to pay off for the crime drama, as it faces stiff competition from Breaking Bad, which sits at 1/5 odds ($5 would win $1) to True Detective’s 5/1.
Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black, meanwhile, is Eckstein’s surprise favourite to win in the best comedy series category at 3/2 odds, which would hypothetically end Modern Family’s four-year winning streak. TV network ABC is the defending champ, undefeated in the comedy category, is close behind at 5/2 odds.
True Detective’s entry in the drama series category could have another beneficiary: FX’s Fargo is the clear favourite in the mini-series category, according to Eckstein, with 1/12 odds to win mini-series while the next nominee, American Horror Story: Coven, is listed at 8/1. And without Matthew McConaughey competing for lead actor in a mini-series or movie (he’s favoured to win drama lead actor), gambling website Bovada lists Billy Bob Thornton as the definitive favourite for his work in Fargo at 2/5 over Mark Ruffalo at 3/2 for his role in The Normal Heart.
Other tight races include the lead actress in a drama series category, with Robin Wright at 1/2 for House Of Cards and Julianna Margulies at 3/2 for The Good Wife, and variety series, with The Colbert Report at 1/2 and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 3/2.
However, Variety.com, which carried the initial story, said odds such as these are “obviously subjective”, coming from the basis of just one oddsmaker, and merely “intended for no more than a little bit of fun surrounding the awards ceremony”. REUTERS