Where there is scandal, there is always money spent to fix the problem or attempt to fix problems. Since the Michael Jackson trial, and his acquittal, the next step is to calculate his losses. This time the money spent is not based on his lavish lifestyle, which is rumored to go well beyond $20-$30 million dollars, none of which he possesses. That debt alone, and this trial, and a possible damage control, seemingly will bury him. He is in debt that is for certain. Now that debt is King of Pop’s entertainment value and people are willing to bet on it.
Pinnacle Sports seems to want to wage a bet on what will happen next. The wagers are either he will sell his Neverland Ranch or sell back his Beatles Catalog, both of which in one go would remove the entire problem. Pinnacle believes it is a long shot to believe he will depart with these price items. The odds for the ranch split are 7/2, and the Beatles catalog, at a value of $400 million dollars, is 7/5, at the end of this year.
Since the odds are not in the favor of the departures, there is an additional wager being placed, whether or not he will release a new album in July of 2006 that is a success. Those odds are 9/5, since in the last few years, Michael Jackson albums have bombed. Touring is an option, so odds are not placed against that, even still tours would be popular. There is a long shot odd that Pinnacle believes, at a 5/1 ratio, that Jackson will not headline Las Vegas, to reunite with his brothers, as the Jackson 5. At 8/5, there is even a small underdog bet that he won’t appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show, despite interviews he might do, post trial.
Scandal sometime brings popularity and success again. If Jackson is to gain back any respect, from his former years, this wager will be a start. Of course most people will be betting against these odds, so his popularity might not be coming back so soon. |
