Betting on the Nobel Prize for Literature

Ladbrokes is the largest betting organization in the UK. You can bet on a lot of things there, but more to the point, they give you the odds. Obama is 3/10 vs Romney at 4/9, for instance, that is, three will get you ten versus four will get you nine. They've also got the odds for the electoral vote tallies.

I was more interested in betting on the Nobel, to be honest with you. And specifically, the odds thereof. I had seen an article that Bob Dylan was going off at 10/1, and he's in second place, with the smart money on Haruki Murakami at 7/1. That makes me wonder. I guess Murakami is sort of due in a way, but poor Philip Roth, who I think is the Americans' best bet, is running with the pack down at 16/1 with Cormac McCarthy. Come to think of it, a hedge bet on McCarthy might not be a bad idea.

There are plenty of other names you'll know on the list, and even more that you won't know. Word on the street is that if you haven't been translated into Swedish, you don't have much of a chance, which is why I'll pay anyone double to translate Lingo into that noble/Nobel language. You never know, right?

Of course, if you're like me, you had to look at the bottom of the list. Running way behind the field, all alone at 500/1, is E.L. James. I can think of a hundred things to say here, but what's the point?

Check 'em all out here.