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Sunday's Academy Awards could turn into gold for online gambling sites like Bookmaker.com and Sportingbet.com.
Las Vegas can't take bets on entertainment events, but Gambling911.com says it's getting more inquiries about odds on the Oscars than it got for the Super Bowl.
To help the gamblers out there, I talked to two local experts on who will win and who should win the gold.
Robert Kline, a producer, director and former senior vice president of 20th Century Fox, will host "A Night At the Oscars," a party featuring an Oscars discussion and clips from the 10 Best Picture nominees at 7 p.m. Friday at the Rancho Mirage Library. Guests are urged to come in costume.
Darryl Macdonald, executive director of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, just hosted an Oscars discussion at the Palm Springs Library.
So, here is how the top categories are shaping up:
Best Picture:
"The Hurt Locker" is a 4-5 favorite with the handicapping experts at Doc's Sports to beat "Avatar." Kline and Macdonald say it should and will win. I've been saying that since July.
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow of "The Hurt Locker" is a 2-7 favorite over James Cameron of "Avatar." Kline and Macdonald say she should and will win, but Macdonald says if there's an upset, it will be Quentin Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds" because of Harvey Weinstein's Oscar campaign. Kline thinks Bigelow's chance to become the first woman to win Best Director will be a factor.
I think the fact that Cameron said Bigelow deserves to win will matter. If he's praising his ex-wife, she must be good.
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges from "Crazy Heart" is the 4-29 favorite to beat George Clooney. Macdonald calls Bridges a lock and says he should win, even though Clooney "did his best work of his career." Kline says Bridges will win, but Clooney should win for his "more nuanced, layered" performance in "Up In the Air."
