German doctor Gunther von Hagens has given Irish bookmaking outfit Paddy Power a potential EUR80,000 (USD$112,500) bloody nose with his claims that an agreement was in place with Michael Jackson to plastinate his remains upon his death. Von Hagens has caused controversy around the globe with his practice of embalming corpses with preserving polyurethane. The doctor also preserved Michael Jackson's late pet monkey, Bubbles, using the same process a number of years ago
Paddy Power was offering odds of what will happen to Michael Jackson's remains with a traditional burial or cremation the two most likely outcomes. Others options such as blasting into space and recycling were also available to bet on.
One of the most bizarre options however was for the singer's body to be preserved in plastic at very unlikely odds of 100/1. However shrewd punters managed to get wind of von Hagen's plans and placed bets in excess of EUR800 (USD$1,120) on Jackson's remains to be "plastinated". Should this happen Paddy Power will are now facing a payout of EUR80,000.
Paddy Power said "There's no doubt about it; we've got a right kicking where the sun don't shine from these punters. The average bet was less than EUR25 so it didn't show up on our radar until it was too late and now we're faced with a massive payout should Gunther get his way. Just like the German doctor, I take my hat off to these crafty punters, well played!"
Paddy Power are offering numerous Michael Jackson betting opportunities including the odds on the global television audience for the singers funeral (between 750 million and one billion is the odds-on favourite) and the percentage of tweets containing the words "Michael Jackson" that are sent next week.
What will happen Jacko's remains?
13/8 Buried
5/4 Cremated
4/1 Plastinated (from 100/1)
10/1 Donated to Medical Research
33/1 Cryogenically Frozen
100/1 Blasted into Space
500/1 Recycled
1000/1 Frozen in Carbonite
Global television audience for Michael Jackson's funeral
6/1 Less than 500 million
7/4 500 million - 750 million
4/5 750 million - 1 billion
2/1 Over 1 billion
Will Neverland be Michael Jackson's Final Resting Place?
2/5 Yes
13/8 No
Percentage of Global Tweets referencing "Michael Jackson" WC: 29/06/09
5/4 16% - 20% inclusive
2/1 21% - 25% inclusive
5/2 10% - 15% inclusive
4/1 Less than 10%
6/1 26% - 30% inclusive
8/1 31% - 35% inclusive
16/1 36% - 40% inclusive
28/1 41% - 50% inclusive
33/1 Over 50% inclusive
Best Selling Michael Jackson Album of 2009
5/4 Off the Wall
6/4 Thriller
2/1 Bad
6/1 Dangerous
8/1 HIStory
10/1 Invincible
16/1 Ben
20/1 Forever, Michael
28/1 Music and Me
33/1 Got to Be There
(Market excludes compilations)
Name of the Michael Jackson Movie
4/1 Michael
8/1 Invincible
9/1 Thriller
10/1 You Are Not alone
10/1 Leave Me Alone
12/1 Bad
16/1 Prince of Pop
16/1 Dangerous
16/1 Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough
18/1 Man in the Mirror
18/1 We're Almost There
20/1 What More Can I Give
20/1 One Day in Your Life
33/1 Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
33/1 I Just Can't Stop Loving You
50/1 Black or White
66/1 Beat it
66/1 PYT (Pretty Young Thing)
100/1 The Lost Children
Source: Paddy Power Plc