Plastic Jacko Drives Bookies Into Meltdown

DUBLIN, June 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

- Shrewd Punters Hatch Michael Jackson Betting Coup

German doctor Gunther von Hagens has given Irish bookmaking outfit Paddy Power a potential EUR80,000 (USD$112,500) bloody nose with his claims that an agreement was in place with Michael Jackson to plastinate his remains upon his death. Von Hagens has caused controversy around the globe with his practice of embalming corpses with preserving polyurethane. The doctor also preserved Michael Jackson's late pet monkey, Bubbles, using the same process a number of years ago

Paddy Power was offering odds of what will happen to Michael Jackson's remains with a traditional burial or cremation the two most likely outcomes. Others options such as blasting into space and recycling were also available to bet on.

One of the most bizarre options however was for the singer's body to be preserved in plastic at very unlikely odds of 100/1. However shrewd punters managed to get wind of von Hagen's plans and placed bets in excess of EUR800 (USD$1,120) on Jackson's remains to be "plastinated". Should this happen Paddy Power will are now facing a payout of EUR80,000.

Paddy Power said "There's no doubt about it; we've got a right kicking where the sun don't shine from these punters. The average bet was less than EUR25 so it didn't show up on our radar until it was too late and now we're faced with a massive payout should Gunther get his way. Just like the German doctor, I take my hat off to these crafty punters, well played!"

Paddy Power are offering numerous Michael Jackson betting opportunities including the odds on the global television audience for the singers funeral (between 750 million and one billion is the odds-on favourite) and the percentage of tweets containing the words "Michael Jackson" that are sent next week.

    What will happen Jacko's remains?
    13/8 Buried
    5/4 Cremated
    4/1 Plastinated (from 100/1)
    10/1 Donated to Medical Research
    33/1 Cryogenically Frozen
    100/1 Blasted into Space
    500/1 Recycled
    1000/1 Frozen in Carbonite

    Global television audience for Michael Jackson's funeral
    6/1 Less than 500 million
    7/4 500 million - 750 million
    4/5 750 million - 1 billion
    2/1 Over 1 billion

    Will Neverland be Michael Jackson's Final Resting Place?
    2/5 Yes
    13/8 No

    Percentage of Global Tweets referencing "Michael Jackson" WC: 29/06/09
    5/4 16% - 20% inclusive
    2/1 21% - 25% inclusive
    5/2 10% - 15% inclusive
    4/1 Less than 10%
    6/1 26% - 30% inclusive
    8/1 31% - 35% inclusive
    16/1 36% - 40% inclusive
    28/1 41% - 50% inclusive
    33/1 Over 50% inclusive

    Best Selling Michael Jackson Album of 2009
    5/4 Off the Wall
    6/4 Thriller
    2/1 Bad
    6/1 Dangerous
    8/1 HIStory
    10/1 Invincible
    16/1 Ben
    20/1 Forever, Michael
    28/1 Music and Me
    33/1 Got to Be There
    (Market excludes compilations)

    Name of the Michael Jackson Movie
    4/1 Michael
    8/1 Invincible
    9/1 Thriller
    10/1 You Are Not alone
    10/1 Leave Me Alone
    12/1 Bad
    16/1 Prince of Pop
    16/1 Dangerous
    16/1 Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough
    18/1 Man in the Mirror
    18/1 We're Almost There
    20/1 What More Can I Give
    20/1 One Day in Your Life
    33/1 Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
    33/1 I Just Can't Stop Loving You
    50/1 Black or White
    66/1 Beat it
    66/1 PYT (Pretty Young Thing)
    100/1 The Lost Children


    All prices remain subject to fluctuation.

    For more information contact;
    Ken Robertson
    Paddy Power plc
    Mob: +353-87-8528718
    ken@paddypower.com

SOURCE Paddy Power Plc