DUBLIN, June 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

- Shrewd Punters Hatch Michael Jackson Betting Coup

German doctor Gunther von Hagens has given Irish bookmaking outfit PaddyPower a potential EUR80,000 (USD$112,500) bloody nose with his claims that anagreement was in place with Michael Jackson to plastinate his remains uponhis death. Von Hagens has caused controversy around the globe with hispractice of embalming corpses with preserving polyurethane. The doctor alsopreserved Michael Jackson's late pet monkey, Bubbles, using the same processa number of years ago

Paddy Power was offering odds of what will happen to Michael Jackson'sremains with a traditional burial or cremation the two most likely outcomes.Others options such as blasting into space and recycling were also availableto bet on.

One of the most bizarre options however was for the singer's body to bepreserved in plastic at very unlikely odds of 100/1. However shrewd puntersmanaged to get wind of von Hagen's plans and placed bets in excess of EUR800(USD$1,120) on Jackson's remains to be "plastinated". Should this happenPaddy Power will are now facing a payout of EUR80,000.

Paddy Power said "There's no doubt about it; we've got a right kickingwhere the sun don't shine from these punters. The average bet was less thanEUR25 so it didn't show up on our radar until it was too late and now we'refaced with a massive payout should Gunther get his way. Just like the Germandoctor, I take my hat off to these crafty punters, well played!"

Paddy Power are offering numerous Michael Jackson betting opportunitiesincluding the odds on the global television audience for the singers funeral(between 750 million and one billion is the odds-on favourite) and thepercentage of tweets containing the words "Michael Jackson" that are sentnext week.

    What will happen Jacko's remains?    13/8 Buried    5/4 Cremated    4/1 Plastinated (from 100/1)    10/1 Donated to Medical Research    33/1 Cryogenically Frozen    100/1 Blasted into Space    500/1 Recycled    1000/1 Frozen in Carbonite    Global television audience for Michael Jackson's funeral    6/1 Less than 500 million    7/4 500 million - 750 million    4/5 750 million - 1 billion    2/1 Over 1 billion    Will Neverland be Michael Jackson's Final Resting Place?    2/5 Yes    13/8 No    Percentage of Global Tweets referencing "Michael Jackson" WC: 29/06/09    5/4 16% - 20% inclusive    2/1 21% - 25% inclusive    5/2 10% - 15% inclusive    4/1 Less than 10%    6/1 26% - 30% inclusive    8/1 31% - 35% inclusive    16/1 36% - 40% inclusive    28/1 41% - 50% inclusive    33/1 Over 50% inclusive    Best Selling Michael Jackson Album of 2009    5/4 Off the Wall    6/4 Thriller    2/1 Bad    6/1 Dangerous    8/1 HIStory    10/1 Invincible    16/1 Ben    20/1 Forever, Michael    28/1 Music and Me    33/1 Got to Be There    (Market excludes compilations)    Name of the Michael Jackson Movie    4/1 Michael    8/1 Invincible    9/1 Thriller    10/1 You Are Not alone    10/1 Leave Me Alone    12/1 Bad    16/1 Prince of Pop    16/1 Dangerous    16/1 Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough    18/1 Man in the Mirror    18/1 We're Almost There    20/1 What More Can I Give    20/1 One Day in Your Life    33/1 Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'    33/1 I Just Can't Stop Loving You    50/1 Black or White    66/1 Beat it    66/1 PYT (Pretty Young Thing)    100/1 The Lost Children    All prices remain subject to fluctuation.    For more information contact;    Ken Robertson    Paddy Power plc    Mob: +353-87-8528718    ken@paddypower.com

SOURCE Paddy Power Plc