posted July 11, 2008 at 14:32 EST in Other Articles

BetUS Sportsbook bettors who are overloaded with testosterone have something other than the start of the NFL season or the next UFC card to look forward to.

This year, the Donald Trump-owned Miss Universe Pageant will take place in a Communist country forthe first time, as it is schedule for July 13 in Nha Trang, in the Khanh Hoa province of Vietnam. It will be televised live for online wagering fans Sunday from 9-11 PM ET, and I have no idea what time it is over there (actually, I think it will be 8 AM on Monday).

The field for the Miss Universe pageant is so long that it would be kind of silly to list all of the contestants as they appear in the odds at BetUS Sportsbook. But let's go over a few of the statistics that have indicated trends over the years.

Remember that the contest has been in existence for 56 years. In one of those years (2002), there was two winners; or rather, one winner who refused to fulfill the obligations in the contract and the runner-up who replaced her.

Of the 57 winners, twelve of them have hailed from Europe (21%), and there have been ten each from North America, South America and Asia (17.5%). Africa and Oceania have had just three winners apiece (5.3%), but they have had one each in the last nine years.

To be more specific, the United States has produced seven of the winners (12.3%, which makes it about a 7/1 shot), five of which have been named in a contest that took place on U.S. soil. Of course, for every year from 1952-1971, the pageant was held in the U.S. But there has not been a U.S. winner since 1997. In an extension of this, there have been five winners from the commonwealth of Puerto Rico (8.8%). If you think it is unfair that, technically, the U.S. has multiple entries (Guam is represented too, at +8000), it must be noted that Alaska and Hawaii, as U.S. territories, used to send their own contestants until they became states. By the way, Guam has never won Miss Universe, although it has taken home the "Miss Congeniality" award four times. U.S. bias?

This year, Miss Puerto Rico is +700, while Miss USA is +600 in the BetUS Miss Universe betting odds.

But neither is the favorite. That distinction goes to Miss Panama, Carolina Dementiev Justavino, who checks in at +450. Panama has had only one winner, which wasn't even a winner, but the contestant who took over from Miss Russia, who was dethroned in the aforementioned brouhaha over the non-fulfillment of her duties.

Last year, Riyo Mori of Japan was the winner, which doesn't bode well for this year's Japanese entry (+6500 in BetUS odds), since there hasn't been a back-to-back winner. By the way, prior to that, Japan had to wait 49 years since its last win. On one occasion, Miss Lebanon refused to compete because Miss Israel was also in the competition. No, it's not quite C-Rod versus Madonna, but come to think of it, I'm straining my eyes to find Miss Cambodia. And Miss Iran? Not a chance.

Miss Venezuela is listed at +550 for this contest, which kind of makes sense; history has demonstrated that Venezuela, which has four victories, is often in the hunt, having taken 34 trips to the semi-finals, and has been first or second runner-up eleven times. In other words, they're kind of like the Buffalo Bills, except they've actually won the Super Bowl before.

While it is clear that the bigger countries generally do better (even more so if we consider the U.S.-Puerto Rico thing to be sort of an entry), Miss Universe is often blind to the "superpowers." Trinidad and Tobago (that's one country) has actually won it twice, while Namibia, Chile and the Dominican Republic have won it once apiece. If you're hip to NCAA basketball tournament history, the "Texas Western" or "Loyola-Chicago" of the Miss Universe pageant might be Botswana, which scored a victory the first time it ever sent a contestant (1999).

Can others catch lightning in a bottle? Is Botswana's Cinderella story encouraging news for the likes of Miss Costa Rica (+3000), who probably lives somwehere near the BetUS offices? Miss Montenegro (+4000 at BetUS)? Miss Mauritius (+6500 at BetUS)? Miss Bahamas (+7500 at BetUS)? Miss Estonia (+10000 at BetUS)? Miss Angola (+10000 at BetUS)? Miss Turks and Caicos (+20000 at BetUS)? Miss Cayman Islands (+12500, and tax exempt,at BetUS)?

Or Miss Guam, who - take my word for it - is going to stop being so congenial if she doesn't win somewhere along the way?

Please - you didn't really expect me to have the answer, did you?

You can bet all kinds of props on entertainment and movies at BetUS Sportsbook, where you can convert your knowledge into big bucks! Join BetUS.com today and make yourself a star with some savvy entertainment wagering.

(Charles Jay of http://www.ebookies.com is always willing to entertain you as a contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)