This one’s for all of my degenerate gambling friends out there… you know who you are! Upon learning that bookmakers in the U.S. would be opening up their books and fielding bets on the 2008 WCT I decided to sign up for Surfing-Odds.com e-mail alerts which notify me of the listed odds in the days leading up to each event. My interest in the alerts wasn’t so much for the gambling aspect. In my very limited gambling experience, I’ve quickly realized I am a casino’s best friend and unofficially the worst gambler on the planet. What caught my attention though was seeing how and where they decided to place the odds as each particular event approached.

With the Billabong Pro Tahiti fast approaching, Surfing-Odds was right on cue with the odds for this event. After checking out the Teahupoo odds I thought I would pass on a couple of interesting bets for those who may be looking to lay some cash down on the upcoming event. They’ve even decided to get crazy on us and add a “to make the semi’s market.”

* 2006 winner Bobby Martinez is listed at 17:1 to win it all at ‘Chopes. The goofy-footed Californian has won here before and seemed to be hitting his stride at Bells. His odds of making it to the semi’s are listed at 3.2:1.

* They have Jamie O’Brien listed at 21:1 odds of winning it all and 4:1 just to make it to the semifinal round. O’Brien is coming in through the trials simply because he’s not doing much in the way of consistent competitions and has focused instead on surfing progressively. This includes surfing big-big barrels all over the world and surfing them in a way that few before him have done. His trials victory at Teahupoo was capped of with a perfect 10, and his resume includes several wins at another monster left famous for its massive barrels and broken bones, Pipeline. If you’re itching to place a bet down, this is where I would put my money.

* Then of course there’s our man Kelly Slater. He of course has the best odds of winning with them being set at 4:1 to win and 1.6:1 to make it to the semi’s. For obvious reasons, he’s at the top of the list for both and takers will see a minimal return. Even at that, with the scary fact that he is as on top of his game as he has ever been, this seems like a fairly good bet to take.

billabongjaime obrienteahupoo

Tags: Billabong, Jaime O'Brien, Teahupoo

Posted by Shaun on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 in Surfing.

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