Gamblers "Pick" Person of the Year Winner

Gamblers are invited to place their bets and choose the Person of the Year award. Although it does not influence the eventual selection, it adds a twist to the annual event and spices things up.

The Person of the Year is a man or a woman, perhaps a couple or a group, and sometimes abstract ideas or even machines and places. The winner needs to have influenced our lives the most over the past year, whether for the better or worse. With so many options, it was a matter of time until the sites join in on the December guessing game. As of today, the leading favorite is Google's Chairman and CEO, Eric Schmidt.

The first Person of the Year award was given in 1927 to Charles Lindbergh. Other winners related to the online gambling world are the Personal Computer (1982) and Bill Gates (2005, though not for his Microsoft operations, but rather for his global efforts to save the world's poor). One sportsbook has Schmidt, another computer-related persona, a 9-2 favorite to win the award. Former Vice President Al Gore, who was also involved in the early stages of the development of the Internet, which in turn led to the online casino phenomena, is second favorite with 5-1 odds.

The odds have another computer wiz, CEO of Apple computers Steve Jobs, not far behind at 7-1 odds. But perhaps the real activity surrounds Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The controversial political figure has received almost one-third of the total money wagered, though his odds are only 20-1.

Even if the award ends up being given to the American soldier, who has received 13.9 percent of the money wagered, and not to a computer or online casino related figure, this is proving to be both an entertaining month for online gamblers and a creative venture for sites. The winner can already be crowned, this early in December. It is the online casino.