Meet Simon Baker.

Simon held the throne of the unluckiest man in Ireland after having his leg chopped off when he fell through the ceiling of a partially built house five years ago. As expected he was less than delighted with his bad luck but found out that losing a leg is not really that big a deal when compared to other peoples misfortunes.

Simon became involved with the Bubble Gum Club which is an Irish charity involved with making dreams come true for terminally ill children, most of whom have less than six-months to live.

One-legged Simon was so taken by the incredible work of the Bubble Gum Club that he decided to run the Dublin City Marathon in support on the charity. He is hoping (& hopping) to smash the current world record of 7hrs 24min and unlike the current record holder will not be using a prosthetic, just one leg and two crutches.

You can help Simon raise funds for the Bubble Gum Club by having a bet with us on his finishing time. All profits will go straight to the Bubble Gum Club. You can also donate €3 by texting bubble to 57001 (Irish mobiles only)

Win a VIP trip for two to the final of the prestigious paddypower.com Irish Greyhound Derby in Shelbourne Park Greyhound Stadium this Saturday, 13th September. This fantastic prize includes a four course silver service meal, complimentary bar, €250 worth of free Paddy Power bets , €250 travel expenses and overnight accommodation in the top Dublin hotel. All courtesy of your favourite bookie, paddypower,com, proud sponsors of the 2008 Irish Greyhound Derby.

To be in a chance of winning we want you to come up with a name for a greyhound. The wackier the better. Judges decision is final, closing date is this Thursday at 12-noon when the winner will be announced.

Here at Paddy Power we’re all big fans of America. And why shouldn’t we be? After all this is the country that successfully exported the mighty M.C. Hammer, Knight Rider, Falcon Crest, Baywatch and Vanilla Ice along with countless other cultural gems to an unexpecting European audience.

Yesterday we thought we’d return the favour and issued a press release with betting on Republican VP nominee, Sarah Palin, to get booted off the McCain ticket. The story ended up on the front page of the New York Daily News which I’m told is a pretty popular read. Some of the enlightened readers of this fine publication took it upon themselves to share their views with us. I thought I’d share them with you;

E-mail 1

What the fuck do you stupid Mick know about Sarah Palin … Or American Politics in general ? You ignorant Black - Irish bastards were betting on Hitler in 1938 !

E-mail 2

Did I read in the New York Daily News that you are offering the following wager? McCain to Drop Palin from the ticket (20-1) Or If I wager $1 Million US Dollars and McCain does not drop Palin from the ticket you will pay me $20 Million dollars call me with the specific details

E-mail 3

Oh how I love the Irish. Your recent odds as related to the McCain-Palin team answer the question of why we Americans have had to save your asses in a few major wars and solve many of your European problems (Bosnia, Kosovo…oh yeah, the USSR). In case you’re totally daft, the McCain stock went up with his selection of Palin. Maybe if you set up some odds on whether you’ll ever figure out that nasty Northern Ireland thing I might take a chance. Pretty safe bet though.

E-mail 4

I see that the Irish are betting that John McCain will drop Palin. Who gives a rats ass what the Irish think, or for that matter what the rest of the world thinks.It’s the American people that matters not you ass holes.

E-mail 5

It’s been reported on bloomberg.com that you are offering 33:1 odds that in the U.S. presidential race, Republican VP candidate, Sarah Palin will drop out or drop off of the ticket by the end of the week. If this is true, I am having trouble on your web site finding this listing to bet on. To quote the bloomberg article: Odds On This doesn’t sound logical. Also, you can’t be that stupid. If in fact you are that foolish with your money, I want a piece of that action. What can you cover? I’m thinking $30 LARGE US from my end and to be clear, at 33:1 odds, you owe me $990 LARGE US if she doesn’t withdrawel from the ticket. Let me know if I have this correct and then how we shall proceed.

Find those WMD’s yet lads?

In what’s described as a world first, “Eggycam” is the latest new betting opportunity hatched by yours truly. Eggycam gives you the chance to place bets on which of ten hens eggs will hatch first from a specially commissioned egg incubator. All the action from inside the incubator, which will be located in the Power Tower, will be captured by a webcam which will be streamed live 24/7 on the website www.eggycam.com

The eggs are provided by Wicklow based co-operative, the Amazing Egg Company. Each of the ten eggs were laid on Monday, 14 July and have been carefully kept in storage since. The eggs will enter the Paddy Power incubator on Friday, 18 July where they will be kept at a constant temperature, and will most likely hatch on 8 August 2008. However this is nature and the date could vary!

Of the ten eggs to go into the incubator, it is expected that about 6-8 will be viable, meaning 2-4 will be deemed non-runners (the cockerel wasn’t doing his job properly that day!) On day ten, 28 July 2008, the eggs will be checked, and the unviable (infertile) eggs removed. When the eggs have hatched each of the chicks will be transported back to the Wicklow farm where they will live happily egger after in their free range surroundings. All profits generated from betting around Eggycam will be donated to Down Syndrome Ireland.

We don’t like being messed around and therefore we don’t like when you are messed around. The latest antics with Jim Bolgers “clerical error” stops short of the unbelievable. We are offering causalities of this latest episode and a 20% bonus on any winning Derby ante-post bets placed during a certain time period after Jim Bolger’s extraordinary New Approch u-turn yesterday.

The bonus will apply to all Derby wagers, win, each-way or multiples, placed between April 21 and noon yesterday (June 2), the period when it looked highly unlikely that New Approach would be travelling to England for the Derby.

We had already been pondering how best to compensate ante-post punters after yesterday’s news before calls in today’s newspapers from some leading commentators asking the big bookmakers to ease backers’ pain. This bonus is considered to be ‘just what the doctor ordered’ as punters were parting with their hard-earned in the expectation that New Approach would be an absentee.

We rate New Approach the most likely other contestant to head Saturday’s market at 3-1 after twice being denied classic honours by Henrythenavigator in the English and Irish 2,000 Guineas.

The Luca Cumani-trained Curtain Call is a 7-2 shot to be the favourite with us. The son of Sadler’s Wells was also a six length scorer in a conditions stakes at Nottingham in April, and ‘coincidence’ punters will be latching on to the fact that the Italian wizard likes to strike in this race when the year ends in an eight, as he did with Kahyasi in 1988 and High Rise in 1998.

Sir Michael Stoute has a strong hand in this year’s Derby and his best hope could be Tartan Bearer, a 9-1 chance with Power to be the market leader. He won the most significant English Derby trial, the Dante Stakes, at York in May by a head from Frozen Fire and Ryan Moore’s probable assistance in the saddle is a bonus.

Six horses have completed a Dante/Derby double since Shahrastani did it in 1986 – Reference Point (1987), Erhaab (1994), Benny The Dip (1997), North Light (2004), Motivator (2005), and Authorized last year.

WHO WILL BE THE VODAFONE DERBY SP FAVOURITE?
Paddy Power: 11-10 Casual Conquest, 3 New Approach, 7-2 Curtain Call, 7 Any other horse than those quoted, 9 Tartan Bearer

There’s a serious schism in the Paddy Power marketing department.

Half the team think Carlsberg’s latest little advert is hilarious. The rest, including me, think it’s pretty tedious. Aside from anything else, it’s not realistic. Those don’t look like your typical lady footballers to me, and the idea that Johnny Giles could get a top flight job in management - even in women’s football - is even more far fetched.

The problem with this is that it leaves us confused. We like to think we have our finger on the pulse when it comes to what our punters think is funny. And there’s serious consternation when we disagree to this extent.

Help us settle an argument. Is this funny or not? And if it isn’t - what sort of advertising is? Let us know what you think - the best response will get a free bet to the tune of 100 quid! No laughing matter. Don’t restrict yourself to the world of sport, let your imagination run free, etc etc.

Ladies and Gentlemen set your gaydar to scrum as the Paddy Power Gay Rugby World Cup is almost upon us. There is no need for a (ahem) ethnic dictionary to understand this event, it does exactly what it says on the tin – three days of no-holes barred gay rugby or as the organisers eloquently put it; “800 Fags, 80 Matches”

Irish gay pin-up boy, Paddy Power, made the draw for this year’s tournament in the dapper surrounding of the Panti Bar in Dublin earlier this week. Paddy’s equally dapper assistant was none other than Ireland and Leinster legend Gordon d’Arcy. Gordon cut quite the dash in his shorts and flip-flops, Paddy on the other hand went for a more formal look, choosing a Hugo Boss suit which was set off with a classic Thomas Pink shirt and tie combination.

The draw itself was almost as dramatic as Gordon’s choice of footwear with the Irish team, the Emerald Warriors, getting drawn in the “group of death” where they face the Manchester Village Spartans, the Philadelphia Gryphons and tournament favourites San Francisco Fog. Bummer!

The Bingham Cup will be run over three days kicking off on June 13th at DCU sports campus in Dublin. Hopefully you’ll be hearing lots about it between now and then despite the best efforts of the Dart advertising people who have refused to run our event posters. It seems that using the word ‘Queer’ in a display advert is considered “inappropriate” for Dart commuters. What a load of cock.

Well, it was a classic encounter, great skills on display, top players, high drama, everything you would want in a cup final, etc etc.

It doesn’t mean much to us this morning as Mr. Ronaldo has left us €1.5 million lighter (for readers in the UK, €1.5 million is about £1.5 million, or it will be soon enough). Of course Paddy is on the radio putting a brave face on things but basically the bonus is out the door and whoever the bright spark is who thought of the Special is probably following it.

The worst of it is that we didn’t even get a run for our money. Like any punter we don’t mind losing a bit if there’s some entertainment involved but €1.5m for 28 minutes must be the worst value football bet ever.

Ah well, at least I’m a United fan. And we’ll make it all back on France in the Eurovision.

I see my colleague Rob has already claimed that “United won’t chicken it now“. And the good news for our punters is that the number crunchers in our trading room agree - to the extent that this morning we paid out on United to win the Premier League!.

Let’s be honest, they are home and hosed at this stage and it would take a minor miracle for Chelsea to catch them. Having said that, we did end up paying out on both Arsenal and United to win the title a few years ago, so you never know. Whatever happens, we reckon that the money might as well be in the punter’s pocket at this stage.

And that’s just the start of it. We’re also paying out on Cristiano Ronaldo to finish the season as top Premier League goal scorer. Again, he’s well clear, and whatever you think of him, there’s no denying his quality. He has lit up the Premier League this season and to celebrate that fact, we’re not just paying out, we’re also adding a 10% bonus to the winnings of everyone who backed him.

Enjoy your winnings!

Who says politics is predictable?

Both Bertie and myself are avid Manchester United supporters, however I suspect that I celebrated their impressive 2-0 victory in Rome last night a little more than Bertie did. The net result was a groggy start to the day which isn’t ideal on the day the Taoiseach decides to announce his imminent departure.

Brian Cowan looks certain to be the king in wait and the 1/5 about his coronation lasted no more than five minutes when over €100,000 worth of bets were placed on the Offaly man. He’s now 1/20, but like I learned this morning there is no such thing as a “dead cert” in politics. Be warned!

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