Katie Couric is set to debut Tuesday night as the first solo female host of an evening network newscast and the most anticipated event of the new fall season is set to reel in over 8.5 million viewers Tuesday, according to online gambling website BetCRIS.com.

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The company has made "more than 8.5 million viewers" the favorite, with odds of +225 or win $2.25 for every $1.00 you bet.

Between 8 and 8.5 million pays out $4.75 for every $1.00 bet.  Between 7.5 and 8 million pays out $4.00 for every $1.00 bet.  Between 7 and 7.5 million viewers pays out $4.50 for every $1.00 bet.  Between 6.5 and 7 million pays out $7.00 for every $1.00 bet.  Less than 6.5 million pays out $15.00 for every $1.00 bet.

CBS hopes that many of the viewers who watched Couric in the morning during her 15 years at NBC's "Today" show will stay with her in the evening, lifting a broadcast that has spent several years in the ratings basement.

Tuesday caps a tumultuous two years for network evening newscasts. For more than two decades, the networks had been the TV homes of Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather. Now, Couric will compete against Brian Williams at the top-rated NBC "Nightly News" and Charles Gibson at ABC's "World News."

Anticipating the debut of the first woman hired to solely anchor a network evening newscast, folks in the TV news industry have obsessed over everything from what Couric will wear to how serious a demeanor she will present coming from the often silly world of morning TV.

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Sparky Collins, www.gambling911.com

Originally published September 4, 2006 3:57 pm ET