Apparently, President Donald Trump isn’t the only one in quarantine, as the best online political betting sites have also cordoned off their Vegas election odds.
Via Twitter, the President announced shortly after midnight that both he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19.
With that news, Bovada immediately wiped all election futures and political odds off their boards, save for the Democratic candidate to get the nomination in 2024 (Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Joe Biden are tied for the lead at +300).
BetOnline has gone a step further, locking out its entire Politics market, while MyBookie has eliminated most odds and props from its lineup.
Still, the latter site has a few remaining lines posted, including Trump reelection odds and a few others:
2020 US Presidential Election Odds
2020 Presidential Election Winner
- Donald Trump +140
- Joe Biden -180
- Kamala harris +5000
- Mike Pence +12500
- Any other candidate +20000
2020 Presidential Debate Props
Will Joe Biden participate in the second debate?
- Yes -2500
- No +700
Will Joe Biden participate in the third debate?
- Yes -5000
- No +900
2020 Political Betting Specials
Will the US Senate confirm Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court before 11/3/20?
- Yes -300
- No +200
Will the US Senate confirm Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court after 11/3/20?
- Yes +200
- No -300
Will Donald Trump start a TV network if he loses the election?
- Yes -140
- No +100
If Donald Trump starts a TV network, what will it be called?
- MAGAnet +300
- TrumpTV +350
- Real News +400
- TNN (Trump News Network) +400
- Not Fake News Network (NFNN) +500
Will Donald Trump purchase One America News Network (OANN) if he loses the 2020 Presidential election?
- Yes +155
- No -220
So, the main upshot here is that any betting line of consequence, save for the Presidential election odds at MyBookie, have been scrapped in light of the POTUS COVID news.
Of course, the timeline for coronavirus recovery is fairly swift, and given the disease’s paltry mortality rate, the President has a 99.9% or better chance of beating this thing in short order.
Trump also has access to the “controversial” hydroxychloroquine drug that hundreds of physicians around the country have been using to successfully eliminate the disease in its early stages, particularly in elderly patients.
Given Trump’s daily coronavirus testing and the fact that his doctors indeed caught the disease early, it’s safe to say that The Donald has a better chance than anyone in his age group of defeating the virus.
It’s less safe to say exactly why most of these Vegas election sportsbooks are so spooked. We’re genuinely disappointed that they’ve all pumped the brakes instead of stepping on the gas.
If anything, Trump’s diagnosis should generate more props and betting lines.
For example, we’re baffled at why there’s not already a prop posted for whether or not Trump will succumb to the disease. This is the lowest hanging fruit, folks, and bettors are champing at the bit for any and every new, juicy line.
Of course, MyBookie has – in a way – broached even that, albeit indirectly.
The sportsbook has long been famous for offering “Death Matchups” in its Entertainment section, and Trump vs. Putin has been a mainstay there (as these are typically themed pairings, like Magic Johnson vs. Charlie Sheen or Jay Leno vs. David Letterman).
Until very recently, the 67-year-old Putin was the favorite to bite the dust before The Donald, aged 74. The “puppeteer” must die before the “puppet,” eh, lefties?
Well, today, that line reads thus:
Who will die first?
- Donald Trump -130
- Vladimir Putin -110
But we digress.
Clearly, the Trump diagnosis will shift the lines across the board, but we see no reason why many of these lines – state electoral odds in particular – should be suspended.
Nevertheless, when all the 2020 political props are posted again, here’s how the lines could move in Trump’s favor as a result of his COVID diagnosis. Because believe it or not, this could actually help his campaign.
For one, Trump has long been seen as downplaying the risk of the disease (which is empirically and medically appropriate but not politically correct).
For a 74-year-old man in the highest risk group to contract – and summarily easily beat – the dreaded, economy-crippling disease, that would be a great talking point on the campaign trail.
It would show that Trump is healthy and strong, perhaps energizing many swing voters who view Biden as ill and weak.
In battleground states that have seen draconian shutdowns and record job losses for residents during the pandemic, a Trump COVID triumph could resonate bigly, forcing on-the-fence voters to reexamine the unconstitutional measures put in place to Slow The Spread™ and reinterpret those measures less favorably as Slow The Economy™.
And again, as noted above, Trump is a longtime proponent of hydroxychloroquine, which he’s mentioned over and over again as being an effective drug that’s been suppressed due entirely to politics rather than sound science.
If he takes the drug, beats the coronavirus, and comes back to his rallies with the same Dragon Energy™ as always, that’s another feather in his campaign cap.
In short, if Trump beats coronavirus without any real scares or close calls – and if he keeps his public appearances going (via video sessions from inside quarantine), COVID-19 could really give Trump 2020 an assist.
And it would be especially powerful once he’s back on the debate stage.
To that end, for the longest time, we though Joe Biden’s camp would be the one to suspend operations due to WuFlu, legitimately or not. It would have been a great excuse to get out of the debates, for which he didn’t seem prepared.
But he was prepared, and after the first debate, Biden was excited to continue on with the remaining pair of events. Bettors agreed, and the odds for Trump vs. Biden 2 and Trump vs. Biden 3 skyrocketed.
Now, those debates are on hold. The second event was scheduled for October 15, and while that might give Trump enough time to recover and prepare, it could be moved back a bit. Ditto for Debate 3.
We ought to at least get some odds on that, right?
Further, Pence’s odds to become the next President should logically see a bit of a spike here, but they haven’t. Again, only MyBookie has those lines up, and Pence is pulling +12500, right in line with where he’s always been.
In a day or two, we might see the lines we want given this new bombshell, and hopefully we will.
Whenever those new odds are posted, we’ll be sure to compare them against Trump’s chances pre- and mid-COVID, as well as post-COVID if Trump beats the disease.
Of course, if he doesn’t, then the 2020 election odds will go completely off the rails.
That old President Nancy Pelosi prop is looking better and better…