Who bet $110,000 on Bush? OAKLAND ROSS FEATURE WRITER TORONTO STAR
He's rich, he's Canadian, and he's turned the world's biggest wagering house into a den of devoted Democrats. He'd also prefer you didn't know his name. "I tried hard to make him go public," said Warren Lush, chief oddsmaker at Ladbrokes, the famous London-based gambling broker. "I'm going to work on him over the next couple of weeks." But with less than three weeks before the U.S. presidential elections, the Canadian high-roller who back in June tossed a cool $110,000 into the pot — the biggest bet Ladbrokes has ever booked on a political race — still wishes to be anonymous. "He doesn't want to speak to the press," Lush said yesterday, after contacting the gentleman in question to pass along an interview request from the Toronto Star, which was duly turned down. Lush declined to identify the man. "I'd love to be able to, but I just can't." In June, when the man wagered that Republican President George W. Bush will renew his lease on the Oval Office for a second term when votes are cast Nov. 2, Ladbrokes was quoting odds of 8/11 on a Bush victory. That means the Canadian will collect $80,000, plus his original wager, if Bush manages to beat Democratic challenger John Kerry next month. But what's cause for champagne to Canadian gamblers can be bitter gruel for renowned British wagering houses. "The power of this one man has left our book weighted quite heavily," says Lush. "We'll lose if the Republicans win. At the moment, we want the Democrats to win, because of our book." In fact, as a result of the wager, Ladbrokes was obliged to shorten its odds on a Bush victory. "Now, if you back Bush, you get less back for your money." Who on earth could this imposing individual be, a Canadian capable of changing the worldwide odds on a presidential election in the most powerful nation on earth? This much is known. He is rich and from Ontario. Could be described as a "businessman"? "I assume he is," said Lush. There must be some way to narrow this thing down. After all, how many Ontario businessmen can there be with $110,000 who would choose to wager that much money in Canadian dollars with a British oddsmaker on a U.S. political race, by backing the hard-line conservative candidate? It might very well be a man who owns homes in all three countries and whose conservative politics are legendary, possibly a man of wealth who faces the threat of future financial reverses owing to well-publicized conflicts with his business associates, both current and former, a man who therefore might not mind reaping $80,000 in profits on a single well-placed bet, a man whose wife has been known to run up a bill or two, on occasion, at Bloomingdale's. Conrad Black, you say? No, no. It couldn't be. After all, this man wants his name kept out of the papers. Besides, Lord Black of Crossharbour isn't even a Canadian anymore — and, really, old chap, gambling is so déclassé.
