With 18 days to go before it is official, one bookie in Ireland is already paying out on those that bet that Obama would win the Nov. 4th US Presidential Election.
Ireland's major betting company Paddy Power is so sure that Barack Obama will win the U.S. presidential election next month that it will pay up on more than €1 million ($1.35 million) of pro-Obama bets.
"We declare this race well and truly over and congratulate all those who backed Obama -- your winnings await you," said a company spokesman.
Now don't think TOO MUCH INTO THIS. One warning -
Paddy Power has a long record of attracting media attention by paying out early, particularly on political contests -- and also a recent record of getting the result spectacularly wrong.
In June, the company paid out early in favor of people who had bet that Ireland would approve the EU's latest treaty in a referendum. The next day, a surprise "no" result sent shock waves throughout the 27-nation bloc, and cost the Powers that be a hefty sum.
What is probably happening is that they can not get anyone to bet for McCain, so they are just killing the whole betting process.
So take what you want out of this, but it is another thing that makes me smile.