Bodog Press Release - survivor betting

August 28, 2003

Bodog first to offer official odds for Survivor 7: Pearl Islands

Despite having to remove the odds for Survivor 6: Amazon after discovering CBS production employees using inside information to wager on the event, Bodog Sportsbook, Casino and Poker has posted the first official set of odds for the latest incarnation of the hit reality television show Survivor.

“When the controversy started midway through the last season, we made a commitment to our players to have odds for Survivor 7,” said Rob Gillespie, President of Bodog Sportsbook & Casino. “We’re honoring that commitment and began taking wagers just after CBS announced the 16 contestants.”

Burton Roberts, a marketing executive from San Francisco, is listed as the odds-on favorite to capture the million-dollar prize at 4/1.

“Burton has a number of qualities that our bookmakers felt made him an easy choice to be the favorite,” said Gillespie. “He’s obviously very intelligent, earning his Masters Degree from the Kellogg School of Management, and he is a former Eagle Scout and appears to be in great shape.”

Just behind Roberts is Trish Dunn, a 42-year old sales executive from Annapolis, Maryland at 5/1.

“She runs marathons as a hobby, so she’s very dedicated to physical fitness,” said Gillespie. “And she won’t be intimated by any of the more physical immunity or reward challenges. This is a woman who enjoys bungee jumping, rock climbing and the like.”

The long shot in the field is Ryan Shoulders, a 23-year old produce clerk, who is listed at 15/1.

“Younger players tend not to do so well on Survivor,” said Gillespie. “You need to be able to draw on some life experiences and be able to deal with people on varying levels, Ryan simply doesn’t have that at his age.”

Bodog.com was forced to remove the odds for Survivor 6: Amazon after their internal security department determined a number of accounts which had wagered only on Survivor 4, 5 and 6 and had correctly wagered on the two finalists for each show were held by employees of the network.

“One thing that needs to be made abundantly clear is that our betting public never had their wagers cancelled,” said Gillespie. “All the wagers stood, with the exception of those we were able to confirm were CBS employees.”

Gillespie isn’t worried that those CBS employees who were wagering on previous shows will be back to ruin the fun again.

“They had their accounts closed by us as soon as we discovered what they were doing,” said Gillespie. “Our software won’t let them open up another account and manipulate the odds again.”