American Idol: Lakisha Jones Now a Favorite to be Eliminated
Bookmaker.com, taking a cue from its friends at Gambling911.com, have listed judge favorite Lakisha Jones among the favorites be sent home after this week.
The online gambling company has listed Jones with odds of +385. (open an American Idol online betting account here)
"There is a sense that (Lakisha) Jones style too closely resembles that of Melinda Doolittle and that Doolittle's popularity is much greater than that of Jones," explains Gambling911.com resident American Idol observer, Payton O'Brien. She also adds that Jones simply does not project herself in the same manner as Doolittle.
"Lakisha Jones was highly touted early on, not only for her voice, but for the fact that she was a single mom and this tender aspect of her life has hardly been mentioned over the past few weeks while Doolittle is always projected as the backup vocalist with the powerful voice and little belief she can actually become the next American Idol. I think American overall can relate to Doolittle better since so many of us require that boost of self-confidence."
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"Never before have we witnessed such an unpredictable American Idol betting season and for many this has resulted in some extraordinary payouts" |
These are comments that can be supported by web search popularity where Ms. Jones regularly shows up among the least searched for Idols.
"Web search popularity in regard to American Idol has been one of the strongest indicators in determining who might be eliminated over a specific time period," says O'Brien. She points to Stephanie Edwards, who ranked as the least searched for Idol heading into the week where she got voted off.
Chris Sligh, whose elimination to date has paid out the most money thus far, may have been a perceived favorite but search behavior showed otherwise.
"Prior to Chris Sligh's elimination, Gambling911.com suggested that week he stood a good chance to be voted off with payout odds of $800 for every $100 bet. The smart money was on Chris Sligh going home."
And there has been plenty of smart money. Sligh, Edwards and even Gina Glocksen last week paid out more than $400 for every $100 bet placed.
"American Idol represents one of the closest things to a promised payout assuming you are smart enough betting online," O'Brien adds. "Even though there are few online gambling websites offering elimination betting odds for American Idol, Bookmaker.com sister site, Betmaker.com (see website here) also offers these elimination odds. So essentially you can place two different bets on two different Idols."
You would stand to lose money if betting say Haley Scarnato and Phil Stacey. Both are listed with odds just slightly higher than even (Phil +115 while Haley is +165). While the payout odds have gotten less attractive now, a bet on one either Haley or Phil and Lakisha could add a comfort zone since Jones would pay out close to $400. You would walk away with around $100. Of course, judging by Idol trends this season, you might also walk away with nothing minus the initial $200 you bet on two of the three Idols to be eliminated.
"Never before have we witnessed such an unpredictable American Idol betting season and for many this has resulted in some extraordinary payouts," O'Brien says.
These were the latest American Idol betting odds heading into the Tuesday April 10 show.
+8000----
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com
Originally published April 10, 2007 10:29 am ET
