You'da made bundle even on small 2007 bet on Obama

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/11/02/2008-11-02_youda_made_bundle_even_on_small_2007_bet.html

You'da made bundle even on small 2007 bet on Obama
BY DAVID SALTONSTALL
DAILY NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT

Monday, November 3rd 2008, 1:10 AM

Barack Obama would have been a better bet than your 401(k).

Here's the bottom line: A $100 wager placed on Obama on Oct. 30, 2007 - back when he was just another Democratic presidential hopeful traversing Iowa - was worth $1,278 Sunday at Intrade.com, one of the most popular online bookies.

That same $100 on Wall Street? Don't even think about it - the Dow Jones industrial average has plummeted some 35% over the same period.

"You could probably have made more money buying Obama in the last year than if you bought most anything on the New York Stock Exchange," said Tom Snee, spokesmen for the Iowa Electronics Market, another online predictions market.

Although New York's polls don't open until Tuesday, online bookies have whispered for months that the smart money is on Obama. These days, you don't even have to wait for the election - you can buy "shares" of Obama at places like Intrade and sell them at any time, just like, say, Microsoft stock.