Gamblers Want a James Cameron vs. Kathryn Bigelow Oscar Showdown
The early gambling line on the Oscars is tracking the irrestiable storyline of dueling exes James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow. Intrade has Avatar as the favorite for Best Picture, followed closely by The Hurt Locker, with no one else mattering.
The way Intrade works is that each "contract" picking a correct winner of an Academy Award pays off at $1. So if you buy one for Avatar at 47 cents, you're betting that the film has a 47% chance of winning the award. Intrade's also offering bets in other categories — Best Actress, Best Actor, etc. — but many of the nominees haven't attracted any bets yet. We'll be keeping a close eye on the data in the coming days with the hopes of giving you insights for your Oscar office pool, or at least making some pretty graphs.