A few Irish people will be secretly hoping the Cypriots come out on top.
Irish Eurovision fans will be hoping that there’s no bloc-voting going on ahead of the 2018 Eurovision final on Saturday night, but Paddy Power might not mind so much.
That’s right, because the bookmakers could end up handing out over €1 million if Ryan O’Shaughnessy wins on Saturday night, their biggest pay-out in the history of the competition.
According to the bookmaker, Ireland is currently in sixth position in the betting with odds of 20/1 to win the competition as a result of some unprecedented support following the semi-finals.
“An Irish win would be truly historic, but for all the wrong reasons as far as Paddy Power are concerned,” the bookmakers’ spokesperson, Rachael Kane, said.
“If Ryan O’Shaughnessy pulls it off, it will trigger the biggest payout the company has ever witnessed in terms of the Eurovision.”
O’Shaughnessy was at 200/1 with Paddy Power a few days ago, before pricing at 100/1 before the semi-finals; since qualifying, Paddy Power has witnessed a relentless flood of bets that have driven his odds down dramatically.
At the moment, one man in Dublin has a €200 each-way bet on Ireland to win at odds of 66/1, which would mean a payout of €16,500. Another Cork customer put €200 on Ryan at odds of 50/1 to win outright, which could potentially cost Paddy Power €10,000.
“In short, our traders will be spending their Saturday night hiding under a desk saying a few Hail Mary’s,” Kane added.
Come on, Ryan!
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
