Our Wager Of The Week Winner – Donald Trump

By turning the dull farce of US democracy into a pantomime complete with audience participation and silly wigs Donald Trump has been the surprise shards of glass in the American political cocktail that is a Presidential election, and has taken our Wager Of The Week winner's award for his completely counter-intuitive debate gamble ahead of the Iowa Caucus.

Wager Of The Week

• Trump spurns debate
• Fox News spat
• Still 8/15 to win

He's ahead in the polls, holding at 31% to nearest rival Ted Cruz on 26%, in the first landmark battle of the campaign, the Iowa Caucus, and has dominated the Republican race with his bombastic style, his outrageous sound-bites and absolute lack of detail since the outset. He's left hotly tipped candidates like Jebb Bush floundering in his wake and if you're in the US gambling laws of common sense will stop him winning on February 1st, think again. He's on course to do it, regardless of how silly it sounds.

However it's not his rise from joke vanity candidacy to serious contender that we celebrate today but his decision to skip the final debate before the population go to the polls. Pulling out of the Fox News hosted debate with his rivals is either an act of wanton idiocy or sheer bravery, but it has certainly set the cat amongst the pigeons and for the sheer scale of it wins him our Wager Of The Week award. But just why has he decided to snub the most right-wing news network in the United States.

Debate Gamble Wins Our Wager Of The Week Award

The answer is Megyn Kelly, anchor at Fox News who in a prior debate gave Donald Trump a hard time for being a sexist pig. Apparently not having noticed that his being wholly racist hadn't dented his popularity, she seemed to think he might apologize and atone, instead of which he was just even more of a sexist pig – to her. Their spat in the media had pretty much died down until Fox announced she'd be moderating this debate, and at that point Donald decided to give it a miss.

With just DAYS before the polls open that's a screamingly big gamble that is almost without precedent, the last man to do it being Ronald Reagan, but our Wager Of The Week winner's absence from the stage leaves Fox without much chance of big ratings (83% say they won't watch it without Trump present) and his opponents swatting at his ghost. If you bet on sports in the US you'll be familiar with the sort of indicators odds can be, and with Bet365 now giving Trump 8/15 ahead of Cruz 6/4 and Rubio at 20/1 it does seem all but in the bag, so well done Donald, you are our Wager Of The Week award winner.