First off, congratulations to Amy Coney Barrett for her nomination to the Supreme Court, and condolences to her family and children who will have to withstand unthinkable libel, slander, and scrutiny over the next few weeks.
Similarly, big props to those who guessed right on the Supreme Court odds and took Barrett, and condolences to anyone who listened to our better (worse!) judgment that Barbara Lagoa made more sense. Touts, we ain’t!
Now, on to bigger and better things. Or, at least, Vegas odds that have yet to vest.
Tomorrow night (September 29) is the first of the three scheduled Presidential debates that will pit Biden vs. Trump on the big stage.
Allegedly.
The event will be held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, with the mic dropping at 9:00 PM EST.
Allegedly.
The debate is slated to run for 90 minutes, with Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace moderating.
Allegedly.
We’ve been telling bettors high on Biden (and whatever he’s high on) to wait until after this debate before placing any bets, on the logic that his odds will lengthen in the aftermath, earning larger payouts. Similarly, if you haven’t bet on Trump’s reelection chances yet, today might be the last time you’ll find real value on his lines.
For the sake of having a comparison point later in the week after the election odds all shift, this is where the best online Vegas election betting sites currently have the two contenders:
2020 Vegas Presidential Election Odds
Bovada:
- Joe Biden -120
- Donald Trump +100 (EVEN)
BetOnline:
- Joe Biden -130
- Donald Trump +110
MyBookie:
- Joe Biden -130
- Donald Trump +100 (EVEN)
Trump has closed the gap on Biden by a few points in the last several days, but he still offers a decent payout compared to his numbers from a month ago, when he was tied with or leading Biden bigly at all three major political sportsbooks.
We expect that gap to close entirely by Wednesday or Thursday if the debate goes off as planned.
Of course, the main race isn’t the only thing to bet on in the political realm. While Bovada and BetOnline have no debate odds up yet (albeit this could change at any time between now and tomorrow’s televised circus sideshow), MyBookie has a whole slew of them.
We covered these Presidential debate odds in a previous article, and you can check out that story for our commentary on each line. That said, we have a thing or two to say about the new lines, too.
The following 2020 Presidential debate odds are updated and live at MyBookie as of Monday morning. Any changes from the previous Biden vs. Trump betting lines will be noted in parentheses.
Achtung: Most of the wagers for the first debate will be cut off from further betting at 5:00 PM EST today, so if you see a line you like, sign up or log in and bet ASAP!
2020 Presidential Debate Odds – Debate 1
Will Joe Biden agree to 4th debate moderated by Joe Rogan?
- No -2100
- Yes +700
No change and no chance. Win a buck or two here.
Will Joe Biden publicly respond to Joe Rogan’s debate offer?
- No -140
- Yes +100
Ditto. But win a bit more.
Will Donald Trump say “QAnon”?
- No -500 (-400)
- Yes +300 (+250)
We said it before, and we’ll say it again: No.
Will Donald Trump say “Sleepy Joe”?
- No -140 (-400)
- Yes +100 (+250)
Bettors are moving toward “yes” bigly. We hope you got your bets in early!
Will Donald Trump mention Joe Biden’s basement?
- Yes -160
- No +120
No change. “Yes” all the way, just like before.
How many times will Donald Trump say “China”?
- Over 6.5 -500 (-120)
- Under 6.5 +300 (-120)
It was a tossup. Now it’s a sure thing. Take the over.
Will Donald Trump say “anarchists”?
- Yes -700 (-240)
- No +400 (+160)
Of course he will. Again, we hope you got your bets in early, as the payout is much, much worse for the obvious outcome.
How many times will Donald Trump say “Antifa”?
- Under 4.5 -220 (-120)
- Over 4.5 +155 (-120)
In comparison to the earlier odds, bettors now yugely favor the under. We liked the over before, so we’ll stick with it. Unfortunately, we made our wagers a couple of weeks ago when the payout was substantially lower.
How many times will Donald Trump say “Portland”?
- Over 2.5 -280
- Under 2.5 +190
No change, but the over still seems safe. Even the local Portland government has finally called for a stop to these Mostly Peaceful Protests™, even though it took the city almost three months to wise up.
How many times will Donald Trump say “Seattle”?
- Under 1.5 -200
- Over 1.5 +150
Nobody remembers the CHOP Zone, as there have been too many Mostly Peaceful Protests™ since then. Stay away from this one, just like you stayed away from that hippy crime fest.
Will Donald Trump mention Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler by name?
- No -800 (-250)
- Yes +425 (+170)
We didn’t go on this before, and we’re not going on it now. The payout’s nice on the “yes,” though.
Will Donald Trump say “law and order”?
- Yes -1100 (-500)
- No +550 (+300)
We hope you took our earlier advice, because the payout for the obvious affirmative is terrible now.
How many times will Donald Trump say “law and order”?
- Over 3.5 -120
- Under 3.5 -120
No change. But you already know.
How many times will Donald Trump say “Obama”?
- Under 3.5 -140 (-120)
- Over 3.5 +100 (-120)
We were leaning toward the under when this line was first posted, and bettors seem to have followed our line of thinking.
How many times will Joe Biden say “Q” or “QAnon”?
- Under 1.5 -500 (+170)
- Over 1.5 +300 (-250)
Big shift here. We took the over initially. We should have waited.
Will Joe Biden say “very fine people”?
- No -160
- Yes +120
No change, but we think he’ll say it. It’s practically a campaign slogan at this point. Kind of like Truth Over Facts™. You know, since this thing is a big lie that’s already been debunked by every “fact checker” on the planet.
Will Joe Biden call Donald Trump a “racist”?
- No -250
- Yes +170
No change. We went with “no” initially, with the caveat that we wouldn’t bet on this one. And we still wouldn’t. There are just too many academic, erudite, bottom-of-the-graduating-class-at-the-Delaware-HBCU synonyms for the term. Of course, Biden can’t pronounce any of them, anyway.
How many times will Joe Biden say “Antifa”?
- Under 1.5 -500 (-300)
- Over 1.5 +300 (+200)
As we said before: Biden. Will. Not. Criticize. Friendlies.
Will Joe Biden say “fact check”?
- Yes -160
- No +120
No change. Take the “yes” all day.
Will Joe Biden call Trump a “liar”?
- Yes -300
- No +200
No change. The favorite still looks good, but we don’t like the moneyline. We didn’t and won’t bet on this one, simply because there are too many different ways for Biden to say the same thing.
Will Joe Biden mention Washington Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward?
- No -140 (+150)
- Yes +100 (-200)
Big flip-flop here. We wrote about why Woodward’s even being mentioned, as apparently he has “proof” that Trump is a mass murderer who killed, like, 600 million Americans with the coronavirus. Or was that how many have died from gun violence in the last month? Expect the namedrop. You’ll get a better payout than we will.
Will Joe Biden mention the number of US COVID-19 deaths?
- Yes -1100 (-500)
- No +550 (+300)
Yes, but for peanuts now. You snooze, you lose. Unless you’re Sleepy Joe. Then you might win…
Will Joe Biden misquote the number US COVID-19 deaths by over 100k?
- No -600 (-400)
- Yes +350 (+250)
The “yes” payout was attractive before, and it’s even more attractive now. But Uncle Joe has probably been reciting this every day for a month because he’s literally never gotten the figure close to correct. We’re still 50-50.
Will Joe Biden say “Russia”?
- Yes -700 (-300)
- No +400 (+200)
As we stated before, it would be political malpractice not to. Even though Trump will say “Ukraine” right back to him, comrade.
How many times will Joe Biden say “China”?
- Over 2.5 -120
- Under 2.5 -120
No change. We took the over, and you should, too.
Who will CNN say won the first debate?
- Joe Biden -700 (-1200)
- Donald Trump +400 (+550)
What a weird way for this line to move.
Who will Fox News say won the first debate?
- Donald Trump -600 (-400)
- Joe Biden +350 (+250)
We liked Biden here at +250, and we like him even more at +350.
Will Joe Biden participate in the second debate?
- Yes -350 (-160)
- No +225 (+120)
This really depends on how the first debate goes. Too many variables for us, and too many “plausible” excuses for Biden to bail. If Debate 1 goes south, a staffer – or Biden himself – will come down with a case of the WuFlu, or the candidate will claim solidarity with protesters and refuse to hold another debate with a “bully” or “liar” or “illegitimate President.” Hold off.
Will Joe Biden participate in the third debate?
- Yes -300 (-250)
- No +200 (+170)
See above.
Well, there you have it.
Now that you’re all caught up with the 2020 debate betting odds, it’s time to print out a bingo sheet, buy a bottle or three of good shooting whiskey, and fire two blasts down your gullet every time you get closer to an over or whenever one of the above lines hits.
If you survive the night, you might make enough to pay off that hospital bill.