Bookmakers Hit Mark With Ron Paul Money Bomb Bet

Carrie Stroup here with the latest report on the Ron Paul one day money bomb.

Heading into the final hours of the biggest single fundraising day for a Presidential candidate, Congressman Ron Paul appeared to be well on his way to making just over $6 million.  The bookmakers at Sportsbook.com had been offering an OVER/UNDER total bet on the amount of money taken in during the December 16 fundraiser.  Gambling911.com initially helped Sportsbook.com set the line at $5 million, but heavy action prompted the popular online gambling website to move the line up to $6 million. 

By 11:00 pm EST, a whopping $17.6 million had been raised during the 4th quarter of 2007, way more than the $12 million initial goal.  Approximately $6 million was raised over the last 24 hours, making this the biggest ever one day fundraising event for a US Presidential candidate. 

The official tally will be in on Monday, however, it does appear that more than $6 million had been raised on Sunday.  Just prior to midnight, it was believed that Ron Paul's campaign had already hit $12 million with some early money coming in.  With the last fundraiser, which took in $4.2 million, it was reported that the money counter had been backed up by a few hours and calculations were going into the early morning.  The 24 hour period officially ends at 3 am EST with the West Coast closure. 

At 9 p.m. EST, donations were over $5 million, according to the campaign Web site. Those donations are processed credit card receipts, said Paul campaign spokesman Jesse Benton. Benton said the median donation is about $50 in the fundraiser, which was the idea of Paul supporters who are not officially connected to the campaign.

Trevor Lyman, a Paul supporter who is traveling the country following the Ron Paul blimp, said the date of the fundraiser coincides with the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.

 

---

Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com

Originally published December 16, 2007 11:20 pm EST