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Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, is bookmakers’ favorite to become new pope
“While Turkson and Scola are currently out in front, let us not forget those fabled words ‘he who enters the conclave as Pope, leaves it as a Cardinal’,” the Paddy Power spokesman said.
Paddy Power said Turkson has attracted the highest number of bets, accounting for 15 percent of the market and is shouldering the biggest single bet of GB£5,000 pounds (US$7,600).
The head of the Vatican’s justice and peace department, the Ghanaian has been tipped as Africa’s frontrunner in a contest heavy with speculation that a Latin American or African could be elected as chief of the 1.2 billion-strong Catholic population.
While Canada’s Ouellet is still in the running at 7/1 according to Ladbrokes, Arinze’s standing at both bookmakers has sunk to 25/1.
Paddy Power said that betting on who will be elected as the new pope is set to become the largest non-sporting market in its history. It said it had taken GB£300,000 (US$450,000) on “pope betting”.
