Download
Will it be a girl called Alexandra, or a boy called Wayne? No one outside Buckingham Palace knows, but it has not stopped punters from around the world betting on Britain's royal baby.
Bookmakers say they expect that wagers on the arrival of Prince William and Catherine's first child will outstrip those for the couple's wedding in 2011, previously the biggest market for so-called novelty bets.
There is a right royal choice of odds ranging from the baby's sex, weight and hair color to even whether Kate will be "too posh to push" and have a caesarean.
"It's a global market," said Joe Crilly, a spokesman for British bookies William Hill, who added that the big money is on the baby's name.
Traditional names head the list, led by Alexandra and followed by Charlotte, Elizabeth, Diana and Victoria when it comes to girls' names, and George, James and Louis for boys.
Alexandra is Queen Elizabeth II's middle name, Charlotte is the middle name of Kate's sister Pippa and the name of King George III's wife, while Victoria would honor Britain's longest-serving monarch.
Unlikelier choices include Hashtag, the Twitter term on which Irish bookmaker Paddy Power took a bet at 500/1, and Wayne and Waynetta, after slobby characters in a British television comedy, at 250/1 and 500/1. Punters can also get odds of 5,000/1 on Psy, after the South Korean pop star, or North, the name of rapper Kanye West and Kim Kardashian's new baby.
"We are seeing a tug of war, with a quite modern couple like William and Kate on one hand, but they have a royal family to appease, 1,000 years of tradition and they don't want to upset the queen," said Rory Scott, a spokesman for Paddy Power.
Girls' names dominate the odds because punters seem convinced the royal baby will be a girl, after Kate reportedly nearly let it slip during a public appearance earlier this year.
Odds are normally equal for both genders but in this case the odds are nearly twice as long on a male for most bookies.
The most volatile topic is the date of the birth, with several betting companies slashing the odds on the first week of July instead of the expected date of around July 13.
The favorite for hair color is brown, followed by blonde or black, with ginger hair like the new arrival's uncle Prince Harry generally the least favored.
Scott said Paddy Power had taken 10,000 bets and expected takings to be a "good 30 percent up" on the wedding, with turnover of $450,000.
About the broadcaster:
Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.
2017届高考英语阅读素材:穷理查年鉴 Poor Richard s Almanack
2017年高考英语一轮复习课件5:Unit 5《Nelson Mandela—a modern hero》(新人教版必修1)
高考英语作文素材:爱的奉献(The Devotion of Love)作文素材
2017届高考英语阅读素材:如何制定一周工作计划
2017届高考英语阅读素材:名篇赏析:冰心-雨雪时候的心情
2017届高考英语一轮总复习语法专题复习课件:13.定语从句
高考英语作文素材:草船借箭(To Borrow Arrows with Thatched Boats)作文素材
2017届高考英语一轮总复习语法专题复习课件:14. 状语从句
2017年高考英语一轮复习课件15:Unit 5《Canada—“The True North”(新人教版必修3)
为解决游客语言障碍 日本推出奇葩便民标志
高考英语作文素材:广播时间(Radio time)作文素材
高考英语作文素材:代沟(Generation gap)作文素材
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业40:Unit 5《Meeting your ancestors》(新人教版选修8浙江专用)
2017届高考英语阅读素材:如何与他人友好相处并赢得友谊?
高考英语作文素材:WhenWillItStop作文素材
高考英语作文素材:长江三峡(The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River)作文素材
2017届高考英语阅读素材:如何增强自己的意志力
2017年高考英语一轮复习课件14:Unit 4《Astronomy the science of the stars(新人教版必修3)
2017届高考英语阅读素材:美丽的微笑与爱心
高考英语作文素材:当好班长(Being a Monitor)作文素材
2017届高考英语阅读素材:年轻时一定要知道的15件事
法国男子出轨遭泄露 怒告优步索赔3亿元
2017届高考英语阅读素材:女性必读:成为极品女人的十大要素
高考英语作文素材:当海啸突然发生的时候(When the Ocean Suddenly Disappeared)作文素材
2017届高考英语一轮总复习语法专题复习课件:2.冠词
2017届高考英语阅读素材:请记住,你是与众不同的
高考英语作文素材:Youcan’tbeanAppleLovedb作文素材
2017届高考英语牛津译林版选修8总复习限时训练《Unit 4 Films and film events》8-4(江苏专用)
2017届高考英语阅读素材:上帝不会问的十件事
2017年高考英语一轮复习课件13:Unit 3《The Million Pound Bank Note(新人教版必修3)
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |