Joe Biden will take the oath of office today to become the 46th president of the United States. If you’re outside the US, you can enjoy more than a passive interest – you can actually bet on a series of props for the inauguration.
Americans cannot legally place bets on political events, but diving into the prop possibilities is usually good fun – such as, what color hair will Lady Gaga sport while performing the national anthem? White or blonde is the favorite at -200, with brown at +375, blue at +400, pink at +500, and red at +1,200, financial website Benzinga reports, based on odds culled from OddsShark.
Wagers Include National Anthem Length, Words in Speech
How long will that national anthem be? Most sides are offering close to even odds at over or under 120 seconds.
For that matter, how long-winded will Biden’s speech be? Benzinga reports over 17:30 at -150 and under 17:30 at +110.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal notes that bookmakers are also taking bets on the number of words in the speech. Biden’s address is expected to be longer than departing President Trump’s 1,433-word speech in 2017. The newspaper reports that the over/under for the speech is 1,500 words at BetOnline. A length between 2,001 and 2,250 words is a -200 favorite at Betfair, while the UK-based operator dubs less than 1,500 and more than 3,000 words as +1,000 long shots.
The books are also taking bets on several words possibly spoken by Biden during the speech. Betfair dubs “pandemic†as a huge favorite at -1,400, while BetOnline thinks “Trump†is an underdog at +300. “Obama,†on the other hand, seems likely, according to Betfair, at -200. That operator pegs “lock him up†at +5,000.
More Inauguration Prop Bets
Other prop bets range from the serious to the zany. These include:
- Will Biden wear a mark during the oath? No -400, Yes +1,000
- What will be the length of the Pledge of Allegiance? Under 17.5 seconds -140, Over 17.5 seconds is even
- Will Jennifer Lopez sing a cover song? Yes -200, No +150
- Will anyone scale the White House wall? No -3,000, Yes +1,000
- Will Biden and Vice President Mike Pence make contact? Yes -200, No +150
- What will Donald Trump do during the ceremony?
- Play golf -200
- Tan +600
- Call Kim-Jong Un +2,500
- Fly to Russia +5,000
- Measure his hands +10,000