With a field estimated at 7,000 entrants when the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event starts up this summer, sportsbooks are in no position to set odds on individual players.
But they are already offering odds on general betting opportunities, such as the age of the Sportsbook, the quality of the winning hand and whether a woman can make the Final Table for the first time since 1995.
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The 2012 event continued a couple of recent trends, which are reflected the odds at Sportsbook. Greg Merson, a young American, won nearly $9 million by outlasting 6,598 entrants.
In general, Americans win this world championship of poker and in general, it has become a young man's game. The reasons are fairly simple. The tournament is in Las Vegas and draws many Nevadans and hundreds of players from nearby, poker-mad California.
And the sheer volume of time spent at the table means that it requires the patience and endurance that only a younger man can muster.
Merson was 24 when he won. The trend tweaked slightly in 2011 when German Pius Heinz, 22, won the title. Canadian Jonathan Duhamel was 22 in 2010 and Joe Cada of Michigan was 21 when he won in 2009.
A year earlier, it was Denmark's Peter Eastgate winning as a 21-year-old.
Small wonder that Sportsbook set the over-under on the age of the 2013 Sportsbook at 27.
And it's a 10-1 longshot that a woman will make the Final Table, although Gaelle Baumann of France and Elisabeth Hille of Norway just missed last year, finishing 10th and 11th overall.
The only woman to earn that distinction remains Barbara Enright, who did it back in 1995.
World Series of Poker odds - courtesy of Sportsbook:
What will be the country of birth of the 2013 WSOP Main Event Champion?
USA -150
Rest of the World +110
Will a female make it to the final table of the 2013 WSOP Main Event?
Yes +1000
Will a former Main Event Sportsbook make the final table of the 2013 WSOP Main Event?
Yes +700
How old will be the Sportsbook of the 2013 WSOP Main Event (on day of final hand)?
27 Years or older -150
26 Years 364 days or younger +110
What will be the winning/final hand at the 2013 WSOP Main Event?
2 pair or better -140
1 pair or lower EVEN
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