Updates: here

Ah, the Oscars. My time of the year. I watch the whole show, right from the awkward early moments where Roger Ebert co-hosts the ballgown chat to the credit roll at the end. It's not hard: I watch the show at a local pub.

Every year, the faithful start to gather at mid-afternoon and by show time the house is packed. Obviously there's beer and popcorn - they've even added prizes in the last couple years - but the real treat is seeing the show with an enthusiastic crowd. Cheers, jeers, and beers: gotta love it!

While public gambling on the event is strictly forbidden in my neck of the woods, that doesn't keep the greenbacks from hitting the table before the winners are announced on Oscar night. We thought it appropriate then to take a quick tour around the web to see what there is to see regarding betting, the bookmakers odds, and predictions for the big night.

CNN.com has some good stuff, including a wee chat with Johnny Avello, king of the "Play for Free" Oscar odds-makers. Frankly, I think he does it as an excuse to rub shoulders with the woodheads - fans of the Hollywood scene - but he is the Vegas man when it comes to Oscars oddsmaking. His picks: "Gladiator" nominees will win Best Picture, Actor, and Director; Julia Roberts is a shoe-in (1 to 4!) for Best Actress; Jeff Bridges ("The Contender") as Best Supporting Actor; Judi Dench ("Chocolat") as Best Supporting Actress.

Over at ABC.com, there's a bumper crop of material, including predictions from "Good Morning America" MC Joel Siegel, a Mr ShowBiz piece on Handicapping the Oscars, and a good Nominations page with a bunch of useful links. Of course, the serious stuff is over at the official site Oscar.com

One of my favorites is Inside.com, which posts The Inside Line, a daily ranking of the nominees "based on a contender's pedigree, awards, reviews, press, promotional campaign and buzz." Miscellaneous other notables include the Hollywood Cliffhanger article at Excite, the Oscar 2001 page at online casino William Hill, the latest odds and predictions from Lenny Del Genio at Turf Club, and - last but not least - five Oscars recipes from famous chef Emeril Lagasse.

If you're looking to place a few bets, it's pretty late in the game. But as of this writing, Australian sportsbook CanBet.com is still open for business. Be warned, though, that they could close betting at any time, as they did last year when the Wall Street Journal published the results of an informal - but very thorough - poll of Academy voters. Ladbrokes closed the books last week, but you can pick up a number of Oscars bets at Flutter.com, where roll-your-own bets are the order of the day. If you're curious why no one is taking bets in Vegas, it's because "Nevada sports books may legally only take wagers on events that are decided openly on a field of play, like a game or a race" (archived article from Poker.com).

What's that? You're asking who I'm betting on? Well, I'll tell you a secret - I don't. But Steve - our Marketing Manager - is twisting my arm to put some cash down. I watch something like 200 films a year so for me the evening is about celebrating, not about wagers. But according to CNN's poll fully 25% of viewers do participate in Oscar "pools." Me, I'm too busy trying to remember all the films I saw.

And what were my personal faves? Most of them aren't even in the running, never mind likely to win, but they include:

• Willem Dafoe in "Shadow of the Vampire" which was a largely unsung masterpiece.
• Jeff Bridges, Joan Allen, William L. Petersen and Gary Oldman --especially Gary Oldman-- in "The Contender".
• "X-Men" which I thought was a hoot.
• Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden burned up the screen in "Pollock" while Amy Madigan was Peggy Guggenheim.
• John Cusack and Jack Black were brilliant in the stellar "High Fidelity".
• the dark horse directed by Michael Almereyda, "Hamlet", which was worth not one, not two, but three viewings.
• and last but not least the truly unique Coen brothers latest "O Brother, Where Art Thou", which was ... truly unique.

Guilty pleasures anyone? I actually liked "Get Carter," more or less. Mickey Rourke and Sly on the same screen? Testosterone overdose and I liked it!

Well, there you go, that about wraps up the Oscar Report for this year. Enjoy the show and save me the aisle!

Updates:

SSP International Sports Betting will be taking bets taken right up until GMT 15.00 Saturday.

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