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Wayne Rooney features prominently in the special bets put together by William Hill for what will happen in 2006.
Those who believe that the young Manchester United and England forward is in for a year to savour will be interested in him marrying his fiancée, Colleen, at 2-1, being crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year (3-1), scoring England’s first goal during the World Cup finals (7-2), scoring in each of England’s group matches (14-1), and that he is the top goalscorer during the tournament (16-1).
The most attractive of those prices is the 14-1 that Rooney finds the back of the net in every group game, although those who think that his suspect temperament will get the better of him may be more tempted by the 100-1 offered against him being sent home from the finals for bad behaviour.
Other specials include David Beckham playing in a Premiership match (7-2), Frankie Dettori winning the Derby for the first time (5-1) and Wimbledon being dry for the entire fortnight of the tennis championship (10-1). Gavin Henson is 16-1 to wed Charlotte Church, while Tony Blair, curiously, is 66-1 to grow a moustache.
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SHARES in Hilton Group rose by 2.2 per cent yesterday after the hotel and betting shop operator confirmed that it had been approached by private equity firms interested in its Ladbrokes bookmaking arm.
However, the group insisted that its focus for the time being remains on the negotiations to sell its Hilton International hotel business to Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC), its American marketing partner, for more than £3.2 billion. A source close to Hilton Group said: “We’re not going to allow the waters to be muddied by this. There is no game plan that says we get rid of Hilton and then get rid of Ladbrokes.”
The company said: “The board confirms that, following the announcement of discussions with Hilton Hotels Corporation in October, it has received expressions of interest in Ladbrokes.” It is understood that the private equity firms include CVC Capital Partners, BC Partners and Blackstone Group.
Ladbrokes, which competes with William Hill as Britain’s biggest bookmaker, could be worth £3.5 billion based on the multiple of earnings paid by Gala, the bingo and casino operator, for Coral Eurobet, Britain’s third-biggest betting shop chain.
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A FULL Boxing Day football programme affords punters with plenty of betting opportunities. The Coca-Cola Championship throws up some interesting games, and offers an attractive bet in the shape of BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION.
The Seagulls have largely been feasting on scraps this season but have shown signs of improvement of late and should be backed at 7-5 with VC Bet to ease their relegation fears by beating struggling Queens Park Rangers at the Withdean Stadium.
Brighton climbed out of the bottom three when scoring a 2-1 home defeat of Hull City last time and can prove too strong for a QPR side that slumped to a fifth defeat in eight league games when succumbing to a late Coventry goal at Loftus Road on Monday.
Ian Holloway, the QPR manager, has mounting injury and suspension problems and, though hoping to add to his squad when the transfer window opens in January, presently finds himself with limited options.
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Another story from the BBC:
UK leisure firm Hilton Group has confirmed it has been approached about selling its Ladbrokes business.
According to press reports, a number of private equity groups have expressed an interest, valuing the gambling company at £3-4bn ($5.2-7bn).
Hilton Group said it remained focused on concluding the sale of its international hotels chain to US namesake Hilton Hotels Corporation.
"The board has great confidence in the future of Ladbrokes," a statement said.
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PUNTERS suffered a black day, quite literally, on Wednesday when Sir Elton John and David Furnish tied the knot in a much-anticipated ceremony that capped the first week of legalized civil unions in the United Kingdom.
Bookmakers William Hill had offered 50-1 against Sir Elton wearing black for his big day, but that’s the colour that the former chairman of Watford football club chose to say ‘I Do’ in. White had been the 5-2 favourite, with red (3-1) and blue (also 3-1) also rejected.
Now, attention turns to what the Queen will wear to address the nation on Christmas Day.
Bethilo, who are powered by Sporting Index, the spread betting firm, make cream the 5-2 favourite, with pink next in the market at 11-4. Yellow (4-1) and white (4-1) also figure prominently, with peach (5-1), green (11-2) and lilac (13-2) also in the running. Black is again quoted at 50-1.
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THE RFU claimed last night that England’s top clubs are seeking a £10 million annual bounty as the price for peace in their war with the governing body. In exchange, the clubs would guarantee to release the players for the extra training and preparation weeks being sought by Andy Robinson, the England head coach, during the autumn internationals and the Six Nations Championship and give him the access that he believes he needs during the build-up to the defence of the World Cup. The issue is at the heart of the vitriolic dispute that, if it is not resolved, is destined for a showdown in the High Court at the end of February.
The proposal was made last week, when Premier Rugby Ltd (PRL) met the RFU’s management board in emergency session. The union is considering its negotiating position. A game of high-stakes poker seems set to be played out.
“As we already give the clubs about £10 million a year, they are in effect wanting a doubling of their money,” Martyn Thomas, the union’s chairman, said. “Premier Rugby has therefore put a tag of £19-20 million as the price for peace. They are the sellers, we are the buyers. Whether that is an acceptable situation with regard to us delivering a winning England, which has to be our duty, I doubt. The price is not realistic. The management board has to consider what it can afford.”
Thomas did seem to hint, however, that there could be room for manoeuvre and any financial settlement would have strings attached. Any deal would run from World Cup to World Cup, or six months thereafter, and not until 2012 as the clubs wanted, according to Thomas. Additional funding would reward clubs who produced England players but would also enable clubs who provided the bulk of the England team to have bigger squads of comparable quality so that they would not be at a disadvantage during the domestic season.
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Another story from the BBC:
A gambling charity has been seeking funding to extend its services in Scotland after figures revealed a sharp increase in people seeking help.
Scotland has one of the highest rates of problem gambling in the UK, but few specialist services to help addicts.
There have been fears that easy access to online gambling sites may be making the problem even worse.
RCA Trust said it has struggled to cope with the workload after launching a service for problem gamblers.
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Another story from the BBC:
Plans for a new casino in the heart of Sheffield have been approved by councillors as part of the Charles Street redevelopment in the city.
The Yorkshire Grey pub will need to be demolished to make way for the scheme which includes cafes, shops and an office block.
A multi-storey car park with 520 spaces catering for shoppers and visitors to the city is also envisaged.
Building work on the project is expected to start in the spring.
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WILLIAM HILL and Rank Group, two of Britain’s leading leisure companies, will come under pressure today to confirm that they have ended merger talks.
Both companies refused to comment yesterday on reports that David Harding and Mike Smith, the respective chief executives, had hatched a £4 billion merger plan.
The plan is thought to have been rejected by William Hill’s board, chaired by Charles Scott, on valuation grounds.
Although both William Hill and Rank have similar stock market capitalisations, they trade on different priceearnings multiples.
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Another story from the BBC:
A portrait of bookmaker Victor Chandler by artist Lucian Freud is expected to fetch up to £4m at auction.
Freud, famed for lengthy sittings for his subjects, painted Man In A String Chair between 1988 and 1989.
Mr Chandler is chairman of one of the world’s biggest bookmakers and also is a long-standing friend of the artist.
The portrait goes on sale at Christie’s in London on 8 February. The current record for a Freud work is £4,152,000 for Red Haired Man On A Chair in 2005.
Posted by casino man in Gambling News at 3:41 PM GMT
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