Sent off the 4/5 favourite, Davy Russell’s mount was lobbing along in the lead when he took a heavy fall and suffered concussion. The horse that Martin believes is potentially the best he has even trained has been given plenty of time to recover from the trauma and Martin remains in no hurry to rush him back to competitive action until he is certain his charge is mentally and physically. People searching for a Cheltenham free bet should remember this.

The County Meath-based handler reports the eight-year-old to be back in steady work and should he begin to give all the right signals then he might run in Leopardstown’s Frank Ward Arkle Novice Chase on January 29, although the experienced trainer is doubtful that the Gigginstown Stud-owned son of Strategic Choice will be ready quite so early. The main target remains the Cheltenham Festival with Bog Warrior having a choice of engagements that include the three-mile RSA Chase (for which he is now available at 12/1 from 8’s), the two-mile Arkle Chase for which he can be backed at up to 25/1, and the two-and-a-half-mile Jewson Novices Chase, a race for which he is a top priced 12/1 chance.

A winner of all four completed starts, Martin’s pride and joy landed a Grade 1 success on his penultimate start when proving a different class to the opposition in slamming Shinrock Paddy by 31-lengths in the Bar One Racing Drinmore Novices Chase at Fairyhouse at the beginning of last month, a performance that set tongues wagging and flagged him up as one of Ireland’s leading hopes for the novice chase events at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

With a relatively brand new ice panel including Katarina Witt and Louie Spence, night one kicked off with seven competing and one getting the boot just a couple of hours of his debut.

The unlucky, or lucky, depending on which way you look at it, evictee was Andy Akinwolere, the Blue Peter presenter and though he wasn’t the worst on the evening he simply fell foul of not been known very well!

That leaves six contestants from week 1 and another eight fall on to the ice this Sunday. Jorgie Porter is already the clear favourite to win it this year and to be fair to the girl, she was pretty spectacular on the night. Of Hollyoaks fame, Jorgie skated like a pro and we can only hope that she has some competition over the next few weeks or else it’s going to very bloody boring!

For those of you crazy enough to stick a few quid on this competition, all of the best and latest odds are below…

Favourite for the title, as usual, is Harry Judd, so much so that the bookies have made him odds on favourite at 4/7 with Jason Donovan and Chelsee Healey both at around 7/2 and then the odds drop massively as Alex Jones and Robbie Savage are both at 33/1 with Holly Valance on 40/1.

The line-up is as follows…

1. Alex and James – American Smooth to ‘Pretty Woman’ by Roy Orbison
2. Chelsee and Pasha – Jive to ‘I’m A Believer’ by Smash Mouth
3. Harry and Aliona – Rumba to ‘Everything I Do, I Do It For You’ to Bryan Adams
4. Holly and Artem – Paso Doble to ‘The Train’ by James Horner
5. Jason and Kristina – American Smooth to ‘Singing in the Rain’ by Gene Kelly
6. Robbie and Ola – Quickstep to ‘Little Green Bag’ by Pete Green Selection

All the latest and best odds are below…

So who’s left – Littlemix who have been the bookies favourite for weeks, Misha B, Amelia Lily and Marcus Collins but one must go tomorrow night and the smart money is on Misha B who is now odds on at 8/11 to get the proverbial boot on Sunday. The judges may love and adore her but it would seem they are on their own and as the sing off has now been scraped and it’s totally up to the public, it could be bye bye Misha.

Tonight, the four Finalists will wow try to us with two epic numbers inspired byyyyyyy – drumroll please – the soulful 60s & 70s and their own favourite tunes. And if that wasn’t exciting enough the judges are allegedly scrapping over the winners song and X Factor chiefs have had to hold crisis talks with the judges.

Kelly Rowland, Gary Barlow, 40, and Tulisa Contostavlos hit the roof after discovering their acts will all be forced to record Damien Rice’s hit Cannonball if they win. I’m hitting the roof too as it’s my favourite song and none of them would ever do it any justice – I still weep when I think of Alexandra attempting the Jeff Buckley version of Halleluiah…

All the judges had hoped that, like last year, each act would pick a song more suited to their style to release as their debut single. But producers, ordered by Simon Cowell, 52, above, dropped the bombshell on them earlier this week.

Eventually the show’s top brass gave way and agreed to let each judge put their own spin on the track…that only makes it worse – dear God I hope Damien cleans up from the royalties!

For all the latest and best odds, check out below!

It’s seems like this is the season to be a member of the boy band ‘McFly’ with Harry Judd hot-stepping it all the way through Strictly Come Dancing while band mate Dougie Poynter slums it in the wilderness. Both are favourites to win their respective show but Dougie may have some competition from camper Mark Wright from TOWIE (I had to ask what that was by the way!) who has taken the lead as the bookies favourite.

The eliminations haven’t started yet but odds on to get the boot first is Stephanie Powers, who really hasn’t done very much followed quickly by Emily Scott – the Australia Reality Show Pro who is used to appear in lads mags but now just flits from one sorry show to another – never heard of her either!

So, who’s your favourite? Do you like them enough to stick a few quid on them?? All their best and latest odds are below…

Louis Walsh, Over 25′s, has no acts left – Kitty got the boot then mortified herself by tunelessly crooning out a few lines from lady Gaga as the lady herself was back stage and no doubt cowering in a corner somewhere, waiting for the horror show to end.

Tulisa, Groups, has Little Mix left and is hanging on to her only hope of winning the show by her fingernails. To be fair, they are good, and by far the best girl band to come out of the show but that wouldn’t be difficult given that nobody can even remember the others.

Kelly Rowland, Girls, is the most successful judge so far with three acts still in the game but for how long??? Janet Devlin has the same effect as watching paint dry and for god’s sake could she smile????? Just once, so we all know that she’s not being held against her will and forced out at gun point to sing every week! Misha B can undoubtedly belt out a tune but in a bid to become the public’s darling appears to have left her personality backstage. And that leaves Amelia – voted back in once Frankie got the boot – she was in the bottom two last week much to the outrage of her fans, none of whom appeared to have picked up the phone and actually voted for her!

Gary (I’m pretending to be Simon) Barlow, Boys, is the ‘alpha-male’ of the judging panel and after last weekend when Craig was sent packing has only Marcus Collins left. I like Marcus, he seems nice, he’s entertaining, but he needs to let go of the Chuck Berry reincarnation if he really wants to win.

She has some tough competition not least of whom is her own husband James Jordan who is paired with Alex Jones from The One Show, Harry Judd (Busted) with Aliona, Jason Donovan who dances with Kristina Rihanoff, Holly Valance, Chelsee Healey and Anita Dobson.

With the semi-finals just around the corner and only seven couples remaining it’s imperative every dance from here on in is absolutely spot on if they hope to progress further. This week Ola and Robbie take on the Samba and if Robbie’s demonstration earlier in the week is anything to go by Ola has her work cut out for her!

Favourites to take the title this year are Harry and Aliona, followed closely by Jason Donovan so it looks like it could be the year for the boys! The latest and best odds are all below…

One of greatest champion horse trainers to have ever lived, McCain saddled the iconic Red Rum to Grand National glory three times (1973, 1974 and 1977) before winning the world’s greatest steeplechase for a fourth time with Amberleigh House in 2004.

So much so was his impact on the Grand National that a photograph of McCain with flowers in Red Rum’s colours was placed in reception at Aintree Racecourse and the track’s website was changed to reflect the passing of the trainer.

Tommy Stack, who rode Red Rum to his third and final Grand National win in 1977, was one of many to pay tribute to his friend. “Ginger was a wonderful man and a great friend,” Stack said. “It was a pleasure to ride for him. To produce Red Rum for the Grand National five times and to win three times and finish second twice is an achievement that will never be matched. My condolences to his family. They have lost a very great man.”

The facebook group swiftly gained over 45,000 followers, was created after footage was shown of looters being unable to detach the television screen from the wall of the company’s Lavendar Hill shop, despite up to three people using their whole body strength by hanging off it.

Ladbrokes Bookmaker have said they will look at the condition of the TV before auctioning it for Charity. Richard Royal, Public Affairs Manager at Ladbrokes, commented:

“Whilst the incident itself was clearly very serious and disturbing, it is an indication of the London spirit to be able to put a silver lining on what otherwise is a very black cloud.

“We have noted of the strength of community feeling regarding the bastion of defiance that is our TV screen, and the suggestion that we should consider auctioning it, with proceeds going to the clean-up operation. I have asked for the condition of the TV to be assessed, after which I see no reason why this can’t happen.”

Below you can see footage of the famous TV.

Wales have contested every Rugby World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1987 and it was this that was also their most successful when they won all three pool matches and their quarter-final, before losing to the All Blacks in the semi-finals. They then faced Australia in the third place play-off match, which they won 22–21.

In the next two tournaments in 1991 and 1995, Wales failed to progress beyond the pool stage, winning just one match in each tournament. Both the 1999 and 2003 tournaments were more successful, with Wales qualifying for the quarter-finals both times. They then hosted the event in 1999 and topped their pool only to lose to eventual winners Australia in the quarter-finals. In 2003, they finished second in their pool to the All Blacks and faced England in the quarter-finals and in the 2007 World Cup, they once again failed to progress from the pool stage.

barring any major hiccups, it’s a good bet that they will once again qualify from the groups this year as runners-up to South Africa and in that eventuality they are almost certain to meet Australia (unless Ireland upsets the party). With only a 33% win record clocked up against the Aussies they’ll really need their A game is they hope to progress any further!

The hostess of the Garden party was none other than The Queen of Bingo herself, who was joined by Jack and Joy – the popular characters who feature alongside the Queen of Bingo in the Jackpot Joy television advertising campaign.

The day was full of exciting events and featured five Jackpot Joy Bingo themed areas for the assembled guests to enjoy; Bingo Royale, Tiki Temple, Double Bubble and Reel Wild West. There was a huge emphasis on fun with a capital ‘F’ for all the gathered players – who attended strictly by invite only.

The tea party guests were fully entertained by the celebrity stars and Jackpot Joy team members, as well as a full complement of entertainers who all worked hard to ensure that there was maximum enjoyment for all. Visitors enjoyed bingo games on the buses and in the Bingo Royale area, bubble fun in the Double Bubble section, bucking bronco rides in the Reel Wild West zone, Caribbean fun with limbo dancing and a Calypso band in the Tiki Temple zone to name just a few of many activities that were laid on.

Garden Party guests have been quick to thank Jackpot Joy for such a great day. Jackie wrote to the team saying “I went to the garden party and had a fabulous time, so just wanted to say thank you and congratulations for putting on such a fab event. Cheers xx”.

Another attendee said “I just wanted to email and say thank you for a fabulous day at the garden party yesterday. The whole day from start to finish was really enjoyable both myself and my sister Annmarie were very impressed by the hospitality and friendliness shown by all of your staff. We enjoyed and participated in everything on offer and to cap it all I won £25.00 on the bingo. Again thank you very much for a fabulous day.”

Blue represent the UK this year along with the irrepressible Jedward for Ireland, who are now hotly tipped by the bookies to win the contest. In fact, rumour has it that if Jedward do win it outright, that Paddy Power bookmakers stand to lose over £1m in payouts and have slashed the odds on the duo from 20/1 to a more modest 7/2…

The newly reformed Blue are taking to the stage with a song they wrote themselves, and the story goes that they had initially wanted to sing it for the World Cup before realising that there isn’t another one until 2014, then they thought about the Olympics but that’s not for another year so in order to get the song out there, they entered Eurovision…one way to do it I suppose!

Anyway, irrespective of whether or not you have any real interest in the competition, it’s on Saturday 14th May and the latest and best odds are below…oh and if Jedward do get through their semi-final the Irish National Lottery guys have promised to double the Friday night jackpot!!

The Donald McCain Jnr trained, 10 year old was given 11-00 in the weights today, which is well within the limits for a potential win while last year’s winner, Don’t Push It, has been handicapped at 5lbs more than 2010 on the top-weight of 11-10 which will make it incredible difficult for him to retain the title.

McCain, son of four time Grand National trainer Ginger McCain, told the Racing Post: “I’m happy with 11st, it’s a good racing weight. He is wrong at the weights but he’s a high-profile horse and is well fancied for the race, so that doesn’t surprise me. I’m not going to complain about it, we’ll just take it as it comes.”

Some horses did very well while others appear to have crippled by the handicap case in point being The Midnight Club, who, all things considered, could have been in with a real shot had he not been burdened with 11-06. Historically horses weighing less than 11-03 tend to do far better in this race due to the grueling nature of the jumps – the less weight you carry, the easier it is to get around!

For all of the best and latest 2011 Grand National Odds just check out below…

Craven Cottage hosts this Valentine’s Day union between the two west London neighbours, with the home side eager for a victory that would break Chelsea hearts. The champions’ hopes of retaining their title are hanging by a thread, and if Fulham come out all guns blazing tonight and steal some points then Chelsea are all but out of the title race.

Fulham are a team in form, unbeaten at home in 2011 and up to 12th in the table after taking 11 points from a possible 18 since the turn of the year. With Bobby Zamora still out, but recovering well from his broken leg injury and Chelsea with their £50m striker Fernando Torres, who will be desperate to make his mark following a disappointing debut against former club Liverpool, things could really heat up between the teams.

For all of the latest and best odds & free bets for the fixture check out the table below…

His most famous horses are the incredible Denman whom he co-owns with Paul Barber and Big Fella Thanks, who is tipped for the 2011 Grand National and they are but two of the once 80 race horses that he owned. But Findlay isn’t just another horse owner, he’s known as Britains premier punter ans plays the odds as a profession gambler, always chasing that elusive big win. Reportedly, at one time, worth over £2m, Findlay’s turbulent time in racing looks like coming to an end in April after he revealed that he is to sell off the rest of the horses he owns.

Findlay, who was warned off for six months by the BHA in June last year for laying one of his horses, subsequently had that ban overturned the following month on appeal and instead it was replaced with a £4,500 fine. He was soon back on the racecourse, as well as in the sales ring, buying five yearlings but by August he had cut back dramatically on his equine interests when the jumpers he owned in partnership with Paul Barber were sold.

Since then, however, his mother’s colours have become a less frequent sight on racecourses, with just five runners over jumps and two on the Flat. And on Sunday, Findlay said he was totally cutting his ties with the sport, with the horses he has remaining running under the name of his mother, Margaret, due to be sold off at the Doncaster Bloodstock Sales Horses In Training auction.

It is believed that the last race he will enter as an owner is the 2011 Grand National with Big Fella Thanks and what an upset that would be if he won!!

For all the latest Grand National 2011 Odds and Runners, Click Here

However, the 11-year-old’s name was not among the entries revealed on Wednesday and Venetia Williams, who trains him for Vida Bingham, said on Wednesday night: “Mon Mome is not going to run now until next season. He was entered at Cheltenham last weekend but we had a bit of a problem in the week and with the entries coming up we decided to make a decision here and now to leave him off.

“We’ll give him plenty of time and we had to hang fire a little bit with him in the autumn as well.” She added: “I’m very hopeful he will be back next season and there is no reason why he can’t be as good as new.” Venetia Williams only has one entry this year in the form of Mobaasher who is looking very good to cause an upset on the day!

With 102 Grand National 2011 entries, odds are fairly long at this point, especially until the handicapper announces the weights on February 15th but for all of the current ante-post odds, check out the table below.

The announcement was made by Aintree Racecourse on February 2nd 2011 and with such a huge amount vying for just 40 places on April 9th, the handicapper is going to have his work cut out for him over the next couple of weeks as he determines the weights.

Of the 102 entries, 34 are Irish with a further three from France, Nicholls has entered some big hitters such as Neptune Collonges, Niche Market, Taranis, The Tother One, Tricky Trickster and What A Friend in a bid to win his first ever Grand National, the one race that consistently seems to elude him.

Ireland’s Willie Mullins, and winner of the 2005 Grand National with Hedgehunter, has nine entries including Apt Approach, Arbor Supreme, Ballytrim, Our Monty and The Midnight Club. There are also five each from Philip Hobbs, David Pipe, Howard Johnson and Nigel Twiston-Davies as well as three each from Gordon Elliott, Donald McCain and Jonjo O’Neill.

Favourite for the Grand National to date appears to Ballabriggs, owned by Trevor Hemmings and trained by Donald McCain who is also trying to win his first Grand National.

Weights for the Grand National will be announced by the handicapper on February 15th!

Seeded fifth, he won 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 7-6 (7-2) to set up a final against Novak Djokovic on Sunday 30th January 2011. Despite an error-strewn performance against Spain’s Ferrer, his undoubted talent and class saw him come from the brink of a two-set deficit, leaving him just one win away from his first Grand Slam title.

But winning the title in Australia will be no easy task. Novak Djokovic claimed his second successive Grand Slam semi-final win over reigning champion Roger Federer to also reach the final of the Open. The Serbian, who beat Federer at the US Open in September, saw off the 16-time Grand Slam champion 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 6-4 in the first semi-final in Melbourne.

Having won his semi in, what is considered to be, easier fashion, Djokovic is odds on favourite with some of the bookies, but the are split, with some favouring Murray. If you want to get in on the action then it all goes live from Australia BBC One, Red Button & online from 0815 GMT on Sunday.

Blocks of various shapes descend from the top of the screen, and if the blocks fall in such positions that form a completed horizontal row, you will be in the money! The more rows you manage to form the better it will be for stacking up your bank balance, and it is possible to achieve four rows (a quadruple) at one time.

The clever thing with Paddy Power Games is that with this slot the more wins of each type you manage to achieve (eg: singles, doubles, triples, quadruples) the more the payouts increase for that type.

What is great about this game and the reason it is so different from all the rest of the slots is that it doesn’t have any reels – it does however have fifteen paylines and sixteen winning combinations. When you complete a row, it is cleared from the screen, and the game comes to an end when a block tries to land but doesn’t have the screen space left to do so. There are seven kinds of blocks – six coloured blocks and the special Magic Block (a multi-coloured block), which awards ten free plays if it appears in a completed row. All wins during these bonus games are doubled.

Paddy Power Games have laid it out well, with no need to go to a separate screen for the paytable – it is all put plain and simply on the main game screen. When you adjust your stake either up or down the entire left side of the screen adjusts so that you can see exactly what you will win for achieving singles, doubles etc… The minimum stake is fifty pence and the maximum twenty-five pounds. There is also the option of playing in slow mode, which is good for those who are not familiar with the old Tetris game. While there isn’t the opportunity to manipulate the blocks like there is in the old video game (it is a game of chance after all) there is the possibility of completing several full winning lines with just one spin, so there is a great potential for making some serious winnings.

A great game, and a real blast from the past – a must for anyone who is looking for something that little bit different from their slot play, but not for those who like the traditional play.

His victory earned him a monumental first prize of $1.5 million.

38 people managed to find $100,000 stuffed under their mattresses making it the largest ever field for a $100,000 event.

Of those 38 players, those studying the Betfair Bonus note that eight of them sat down to battle it out for the $1.5 million prize money and Katchalov started third in chips.

Nick Shulman – 2,990,000
Daniel Negreanu – 2,166,000
Eugene Katchalov – 1,476,000
Bryn Kenney – 1,390,000
Humberto Brenes – 757,000
Demjan Sandor – 379,000
Andrew Lichtenberger – 373,000

Those over at www.betfairpoker.com note how the first to be eliminated was Lichtenberger after shoving with AT pre flop only to be called by the pocket kings of Negreanu. Then the Hungarian Sandor Demjan was next when he shoved on a board of 8d8h2d with pocket tens and Katchalov called with pocket Jacks. Brenes, Schulman followed before Katchalov “killed Kenney” with the American finishing in 3rd place for $643,000.

This left Eugene Katchalov and Daniel Negreanu heads up for the $1,500,000 and the Super High Roller trophy. The final hand came when Negreanu shoved pre flop with pocket fives and was called by the pocket fours of Katchalov. It is not often that pocket five’s dominate much but they certainly looked huge compared to the pair that Katchalov held in his hand. After the AcTs8s flop it appeared Negreanu would double up but a cruel 4s turn meant that Negreanu was drawing to two outs and on the river it was a 2c and Katchalov was victorious.

However, Daniel Negreanu had a $1,000,000 consolation and he also leap frogged Phil Ivey into first place in the all-time money list for tournaments with $14,116,192.

Without fail, the line-up is yet again a scraping of the barrel of celebs trying to stretch out their has-been 15 minutes of fame but, I suppose, that’s irrelevant when trying to triple toe loop across the ice especially if you’re Angela Rippon!

The rest of the cast include….drum roll please….Sam Attwater (who?????), Laura Hamilton (who?????), Jennifer Metcalfe (vaguely familiar), Jeff Brazier (touted as a TV host but really only famous for being with Jade Goody), Kerry Katona (for God’s sake), Johnson Beharry (not a clue who he is), Nadia Sawalha (hurray, I name we know!!), Vanilla ‘Ice Ice Baby’ Ice (queue ITV minions lining up the ‘Ice’ puns as I type), Angela Rippon, Denise Welch, Steven Arnold (no idea??), Chloe Madeley (famous only for being offspring of Richard & Judy), Elen Rives (famous only for marrying Frank Lampard), Dave Vitty (???), Craig McLachlan (was in neighbours 20 years ago) and last, but not least, Dominic Cork who finishes off the list of people we’ve never heard of!

It could still be good though and after a few weeks we’ll probably be cheering them on and waiting for the terrible ones to get the boot. We’ll be booing and hissing at Jason Gardiners cruel comments, and wondering how many complaints will go to OFCOM about Ms. Willoughby’s attire and generally be oohing and ahhing at the skill of some of the good ones…

Odds at the moment are obviously based on not having seen any of them actually skate so they could all change after tonight’s show…

The vote is split between Stacey and Shaun with Jenny being the outside favourite at the moment. Stacey has been top with the bookies since the beginning and has endeared herself with the viewers at home for being, on the face of it, one of the most genuinely nice people EVER! And let’s be fair, if she wasn’t, the mask would have fallen a long time ago so it’s nice girl versus bad boy this year.

Of course tonight will be the ‘Three-course meal’ challenges where the three left will compete for stars to earn a slap up dinner and we are rubbing our hands in glee, fully anticipating horrible, nasty trials that make our stomachs turn…can’t wait!

There’s still time to put a few bob on your favourite and all of the latest and best odds are below…

I’ll be honest, I don’t just watch it so I can write about the tragedy of it all or to comment on Cheryl ‘I thoroughly enjoyed that’ Cole/Tweedy or how Simon Cowell must be thanking the production gods for the hoopla that surrounded Katie Weasel.

No, I actually rather enjoy listening to Rebecca and Matt sing and I’m just crossing my fingers that they make it to the final and don’t bottle it at the end!

Anyway, enough of my ramblings…the semi-final is this weekend and after Wagner and Katie were unceremoniously booted out last week, we’re left the five hopefuls who’ve got their eyes on the big prize – the one that ties them to Simon Cowell for the rest of their natural born lives, although they’ve probably sold him their souls aswell….

Mary Byrne, Matt Cardle, Rebecca Ferguson, Cher Lloyd and One Direction are all still in with a shout which also means that, conveniently of course, that so are all the judges. This will make for good tv, because the brass tacks of it are that no judge wants to lose. So I’m now rubbing my hands together in gleeful anticipation of the daggers, knives, and any other sharp instrument you can think of, being dragged out as the final battle commences.

If you’re more interested in who could possibly win and fancy throwing a few quid at it then all of the latest and best odds are below!

Rooney has, just two days before the start of the season declared that he wants to quit the club, much to the disappointment of Ferguson, who took Rooney under his wing after buying him from Everton for £15.6 million in 2004. It is well recognised that Ferguson has been a huge support and mentor to Rooney in the succeeding years, and he was obviously hurt, stating that upon hearing Rooney’s intentions he was ‘dumbfounded… we’ve done everything we can to help Wayne Rooney since the minute he came to this club. I couldn’t understand it at all because only months before he’d said he was at the biggest club in the world and wanted to stay for life…’

And it’s not just Ferguson who is shocked at Rooney’s announcement – fans are obviously upset: they see his desire to up and leave as a betrayal which clearly shows that he lacks respect for the club. Yet they don’t seem surprised – how can you when just a matter of six weeks ago the player was found to have cheated on his wife (again) with a prostitute (again), this time while his wife was pregnant with his child. Is this kind of behaviour indicative of a man who has respect for anyone? So does it seem likely that he would deem a football club to be worthy of his respect?

He obviously has a highly inflated ego, which is more than likely pumped up even further by the fact that if he was to be bought from Manchester United, it would rewrite football transfer history making him the most expensive footballer of all time, and could see him on a salary of more than £200,000 a week.

Having said all that Rooney has responded to Ferguson’s public display of disappointment by stating that he wanted to quit the club due to the fact that he felt it was lacking in ambition – even though he was being offered a new contract at Manchester United which would have made him the highest paid player in the club.

So according to Rooney, his departure from the club is more about failure of the club to be able to attract the top players in the world – Manchester United currently have debts in the region of £750 million and have to pay approximately £70 million a year in interest alone.

One could argue that Manchester United, in offering Rooney the best contract in the club, have simply confirmed to him that he is the best thing since sliced pan, and they will do just about anything to keep him, including giving very emotional expressions of protest to the national press.

More fool them, as tactics like these don’t work on the egotistical – just ask his wife: surely she has given him everything he wanted yet he still felt the need to gratify himself elsewhere. And sadly, while people put up with all sorts in the name of love, surely an esteemed football club aren’t willing to put up with such treatment from a player who failed to score even one goal in the World Cup?

Paddy Power Bookmakers are obviously going to coin it in with their range of bets on the subject – so if he goes who will he go to and where will he be on 2nd September 2011????

Man City 11/8
Man Utd 15/8
Real Madrid 7/2
Chelsea 9/2
Barcelona 8/1
AC Milan 33/1
Inter Milan 40/1
Everton 40/1
Liverpool 40/1
Tottenham 50/1
Arsenal 66/1
Juventus 100/1
Bayern Munich 100/1

Katie Waissel = Public Outrage = Newspaper Columns = Higher Viewing Figures = More Votes = MORE MONEY

And, at the end of the day that’s all that Simon Cowell wants. And if the newspapers are to be believed, the production lawyers have been hard at work getting her out of an existing record contract in the US so that she could qualify for the show in the first place. So, if Cowell has pumped that much cash into this investment you can’t for one second believe that anybody was going to vote her out, and certainly not Louis Walsh who I’m sure likes his job very much!

So on the basis of fairness Paddy Power Bookmakers are offering odds on her to be both the next contestant booted out AND the winner, so take your pick….And if you needed a little help deciding then how about this: Now Magazine have reported that “Katie is the only finalist not to have received any bets to win”!

As of today, October 13th, on Paddy Power Bookmakers – she’s 3/1 to be the next to go and 25/1 to win it…hmmmm I wonder which one is more likely?????

Within the first few months that Hopa.com increased the jackpot from €200,000 to €1 million, Hopa.com has the first jackpot winner.

Lydie A., had a fantastic end to the summer as she became the first ever €1 million winner at leading online scratch card website, Hopa.com. Lydie A., a high profile and avid player on the site, won her fortune playing the recently launched multi scratch game Super 3 WOW, where players have to scratch away to find three matching clovers on a single card. An extremely shocked Lydie A., told Hopa.com representatives:

“This is not joy; it is madness because after winning 250,000Euros, it takes some time to come back to EARTH! I became stuck to my chair and could not believe what was happening to me. I checked it for a long time and realized that these 250,000Euros were not a dream but a reality when a member of the HOPA team contacted me to congratulate me on my 1,000,000Euros win! Yes you heard 1,000,000Euros! It’s fabulous and so unpredictable…”

This is her biggest win yet, following her last fortune of €100,000 which she won in September 2009 playing Super Slot 7 at Hopa.com.

This is the first time ever that such a fortune of €1 million has been won. Dreams really do come true at Hopa.com!

With bonafide musicians in the form of Sharleen Spiteri, Jamie Cullum and Dizzee Rascal acting as the judging panel and truly gifted singers, songwriters and musicians vying for a place in the grand final at Wembley Stadium, this weekly show has really hit the mark with the viewing public.

There are no contrived, over produced theatrics from the judges and the acts all start making money from their music straight away. Thankfully no one will have to sign their souls over to Mr Cowell for the rest of their natural born days.

And the format works. So far all of the acts have entered the Top 40 with their little heard songs and a few have even flown straight into the Top 10. Odds on the outright winner are available from paddy power Bookmaker and they’re pretty good!

Pepper & Piano 6/4
Emma’s Imagination 2/1
Hero 9/2
Daithi 8/1
Missing Andy 8/1
The Pictures 12/1

I think The Pictures is definitely worth a punt and cannot understand why they’re the least favourite to scoop the £100,000 on Sunday, that’s an opinion however and in no way constitutes a basis for backing them! But I will be

Mecca Bingo 9pm they run these jackpots in Dancing Queen and Two Little Ducks with tickets being just a teeny weeny 25p. And every single week you can get in on the action and win a share of over £30,000!

Up for grabs every day is £5,000 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; £7,000 on Thursdays and £10,000 on Fridays. That means more than £120,000 over the whole month!

And if you have a hectic social life and can’t make it for the games, you can pre-buy your tickets to make sure you don’t miss the chance to take home a minimum of £500 each game!

Luckily, he now gets to join the illustrious list of young, dumb and over paid footballers who wouldn’t know fidelity if it was kicking their arses up and down a football pitch.

And, according to publicist Max Clifford, Rooney’s career would not be affected by the allegations. ‘The only thing Wayne Rooney has to worry about is his wife, whether she, like all the others, is prepared to accept her husband’s alleged infidelities’. Charming Max.

Of course Clifford didn’t stop there, adding ‘Nobody in football gives a monkey’s as long as he’s winning on the pitch. Man United fans love him. He could be a mass murderer as long as he’s scoring goals.’ Except Max, HE’S NOT. World Cup anyone???

Many won’t give a friggin toss what he does in his private life. I’m one of them. But, in the interest of being informative when it comes to all things gambling, I’m getting a great laugh from the new string of bets available from Paddy Power Bookmakers.

Celebrity Split Specials!
Profession of next tabloid cheat:
Soccer 4/9
TV Personality 6/1
Actor 6/1
Politician 8/1
Singer 8/1
Golf 14/1
Rugby 14/1
Tennis 16/1
Model 16/1
Cricket 16/1
Boxing 20/1

And to supplement the paltry £100,000 plus that he earns at United every week, Rooney also has his face plastered across ad campaigns for various other companies including Coca Cola and Nike.

These may not be as forgiving as Man Utd and the English FA and at least one is going to have feign enough indignation to drop him in protest but who???

Asda 5/4
Ford 9/4
Nokia 11/4
Coca Cola 5/1
EA Sports 8/1
Nike 16/1

I’m sure on some level it’s considered very poor taste to profit from the misery of others but I think it’s OK to make an exception in this case – he made his £1000-a-night-bed and now he’s got to sleep in it. Or at least until Coleen boots him out, which, coincidentally, you can also get 13/8 odds on!

Anyway, enough social commentary on the UK’s biggest talent search and on to the people who were actually very good which, and this is off the top of my head, there were only about four shown – the young lad who is back after two years Liam Payne, the cute girl who called Simon ‘Lightning’, the 26 year old care home worker from London and my favourite auditionee so far in the whole competition – Cher Lloyd who is now a real contender.

Do the bookies agree with me??? Paddy Power do and they’ve made her the favourite at 9/2!

Cher Lloyd 9/2
Liam Payne 7/1
Gamu Nhengu 9/1
Mary Byrne 10/1
The Reason 14/1
TreyC Cohen 16/1
Keri Arrindell 16/1
Matt Cardle 16/1
John Adeleye 18/1
Ruth-Ann St.Luce 18/1
Holly Burns 25/1
Katie Waissel 25/1
Husstle 33/1
Storm Lee 33/1

That said, one or two really did stand out but that could also have been because the ‘talent’ they were up against was so horrific that my ears are still bleeding which of course makes them look like the next Whitney or Celine when in fact they could be just quite good – it’s all relative people!

So who are the bookies, specifically Paddy Power, favouring at this very early stage….

Gamu Nhengu (sang her own version of Walking on Sunshine) is tipping the polls at 9/1
Katie Waissel (thinks she’s Madonna and wants to be love child of Etta James and Freddie Mercury!!!) is in second place at 16/1
Lynn Frances O’Neil (Scottish girl with fabulous voice) is in third on 25/1

Of course these odds will change and more will get added as each show progresses but they’re not bad odds is you really fancy one of them win!

UPDATE: The new Game Hunter app is now live in the iTunes store, don’t worry the app is free! It acts as your complete guide to casino, poker, bingo and free fruit machines. The iPhone application allows you instant access to the best of the Game Hunters reviews. You can also keep up-to-date with all the betting news and sports stories with the live feed from the www.TheGameHunter.co.uk.

The app itself is very simple and shouldn’t cause any problems on your iPhone once downloaded. If you do have problems with the app simply uninstall and redownload. Below you can see the screen shots of the app. Feel free to download and rate.

Full year figures just released by the consortium revealed an increase of £302.7 million on the previous year’s figures of £5,149.1 million. These sales are the best National Lottery performance in a decade despite having to prepare for a new licence and having to deal with some of the most significant challenges they have ever had to face form the wider market.

While some might not be too happy at the consortium raking in such profits from others’ desire for a little bit of luck, especially in a time of recession and hardship, it must be remembered that any increase in sales performance for Camelot result in an increase in annual returns to the Good Causes – and this year they deliver the highest returns to the Good Causes in ten years, £1,548.4 million which is a rise of £170.8 million on 2008/09’s returns of £1,377.6 million.

Those who play the National Lottery have now helped raise over £24 billion for the Good Causes, money that has funded more than 330,000 individual lottery awards to date, and compared to other means of gambling the company’s policy is to encourage as many people as possible to be involved, with as little individual spend as possible – demonstrating clear evidence of being a truly responsible operator. The London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games are just one example of the good that can be done through the Lottery. The games are receiving a contribution of £2.2 billion from the National Lottery, £750 million of which comes from specially-designated games. Worldwide there has been a trend of slowing lottery sales, but not so in the UK where Camelot regularly refresh regular games as well as offer new and innovative ways of play.

All good stuff but as lottery players we most love hearing about the individuals who scoop the jackpots! The latest example is a couple from Manchester, Sharon and Nigel Mather who won £12,408,000 after matching all five numbers and two lucky stars in Friday 11 June’s EuroMillions draw. The couple who have two children only realised they had won the life-changing sum after Sharon checked the results on TV when they returned home from holiday. The ticket was bought during a week’s break to Minehead, which was a gift courtesy of Sharon’s father, John Morris, who wanted to treat the couple to some time away with the children. And they are not the only jackpot winners – with a UK millionaire created every week due to the National Lottery, it is definitely something worth being involved in!

Mathematicians have already been stunned by Paul’s accurate predictions and have said that the odds of him picking six winners in a row are over 210/1 – which would probably have been a better bet than putting your money on any of the teams in the actual World Cup!

Soon it will be the turn of the Dutch and Spanish to hold their breath as Paul is scheduled to pick who he thinks will win the World Cup very shortly…..Let’s hope the outcome doesn’t lead to any more death threats which have plagued Paul since his incredible talent has become more widely known – the Argentinians promised to captured, kill and cook him with potatoes – Yes, people of Argentina, it’s the Octopus’ fault that you’re out of the World Cup!!!

Currently, Spain appear to be favourites on the back of their ten out of ten wins in the qualifying stages but past tournaments have shown that anything can happen on the day – remember dismal France in 2006 anyone??? Of course, Brazil are always in with a shout as the most successful team to have ever entered the competition and if you’re English then you’ll be hoping that Beckham et al can bring the Jules Rimet home for the first time since 1966!

Holland are flying under the radar at the moment and though the World Cup hasn’t always been kind to them given their abundance of talent, this year sees a far more cohesive team take to the pitch so maybe their luck will change in South Africa – they’ll definitely have plenty of support there!

Surprisingly the Germans are hovering around 16/1 to take the title which are pretty decent odds given that you can absolutely NEVER rule them out and somehow they always seem to be there or there abouts in the end.

From June 11th to July 11th we’ll all be glued to our TV’s and cheering on our countries so if you fancy spicing it up a little and sticking a few quid down on your fav then all of the latest and best World Cup odds are below!