Just when you thought you’d heard it all, William Hill, the online betting powerhouse that has offered more than one scandalous betting option over the years has released its Royal Wedding Odds following Prince William’s long awaited engagement to Kate Middleton on Tuesday…and they go a little something like this:

The highest wagering goes to the Wedding Venue and while Westminster Abbey is a marginal favourite at 4/6, there are three other chapels to choose from too.  The Wedding Date odds offered are May at 9/2, June at 4/1, July at 5/4, August at 5/4 and September at 12/1.

Ask anyone who the Best Man would be, and their answer would of course be William’s younger brother Harry, and PaddyPower seems to think so too with 1/25 odds (let’s hope he doesn’t reappear in his deviant “Halloween” costume of yester year) with a bet of €25 paying out €1, but a bet of  €500 paying out €20.  The initial bet will be refunded should Prince Harry be named Best Man, which of course everyone thinks he will be.  Any other “best man” options pay out 8/1.

Choosing who will occupy the coveted Maid of Honour position is not as much of an easy task as picking the Best Man, but odds place Pippa Middleton, Kate’s sister as a firm favourite at 1/8.  Also on the list are Zara Phillips at 8/1 and any “others” at 12/1.

And while one would be forgiven for thinking “white” would be the obvious Wedding Dress Colour, there are actually 24 betting options (yes, really) with ivory being the favourite at 10/1, perhaps PaddyPower took her skin tone into account for this one?  However they other colours like green and brown are listed at 66/1 odds…that would just be scary!

Here’s where it gets even more bizarre, the Colour of the Queen’s hat is another betting option…pink is said to be the favourite but only carries 9/2 odds while all other hues pay out at 5/1 odds or better.  Astonishingly white pays the best at 20/1 odds, perhaps because that would just be “taboo”.

There are also a number of other astounding betting options included in the Royal Wedding saga…The Designer for Kate’s wedding dress, the number of BBC Wedding Viewers that will tune in (in excess of 36 million pays 5/1 odds which is fair considering there are over 62 million residents in the United Kingdom), the Next Monarch, as well as Titles Taken (Duke and Duchess of Cambridge is the favourite in case you’re wondering).

While controversial and entertaining, one really has to wonder if the UK is SOOO obsessed with its Royals that the event warrants its own betting options, but obviously William Hill seems to think so, and it will be an interesting one to keep an eye on, if not to place wagers then just to have a good laugh. 

The entertainment industry has been particularly hard hit by the global recession, so it stands to reason that the tourist dependant city of Las Vegas has felt the impact of it quite severely but new reports state that the recession-battered Strip may be on its way to recovery as room rates, convention bookings, visitor number and gambling revenues are on the increase.

While these are a positive signs, analysts maintain that small year on year improvements do not define an economic recovery for larger companies and according to Joe Fath, T.Rowe’s price portfolio manager specialising in gaming, travel and tourism, while things don’t seem to be getting worse, they aren’t getting better either.  Fath recently stated that there is difference between a few positive indicators and real recovery and most can expect improvements only at a moderate pace.  Wall Street analysts seem to be in agreement despite the rally in casino stocks and bonds, most of which are affected by the growth in Asian Casinos, rather than those in Las Vegas.

While the Vegas Casinos bosses aren’t giving into the despair of the naysayers, they too report “mixed feelings” on the positive recovery of the city’s business in 2011.  CEO Steve Wynn who is traditionally more of a sceptic than his other counterparts, said at a recent conference “I believe we’ve seen the bottom in Las Vegas, I don’t know how fast it’s going to get better, but it’s not going to get any worse.”  This sentiment was echoed by MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren who mentioned that he is optimistic as downward trends “have started to stabilize“.

While the Wynn has upped its prices on room rates and both they and MGM are experiencing increased convention bookings, consumer spending remains weak and isn’t expected to grow enough in 2011 to boost earnings too extensively for these giants.

Another contributing factor to the Las Vegas concerns for recovery are airline capacities to the city.  After years spent discounting flight prices in order to boost business, airlines are now having to pursue a more profitable strategy in order to stay in business, this means cutting down on the numbers of flights offered and charging more for these, which could continue to discourage visits to the city by budget-conscious tourists.  Although drive-in traffic to Las Vegas has increased significantly of late, according to strategists, this does not offset the decline in fly-in guests.

Las Vegas hotel and casino groups that do not have other international concerns in Asia to boost their incomes are definitely feeling the pinch and in spite of positive indicators, it is reported that many are in dire need of a sharper recovery than is being anticipated in order to remain viable. 

Let’s hope they get what they need, because as anyone who has ever been to Vegas will tell you, it’s definitely a place that you need to visit at least once in your lifetime.