WagerWeb.com Posts Supreme Court Appointee Odds

ZAPOTE, Costa Rica – (PRESS RELEASE) -- It was truly a sad day for America when United States Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist passed away over the weekend, losing his battle with thyroid cancer. Rehnquist, who served on the nation's highest court for 33 years, was seen by many as a fair, honest, and remarkable Justice and human being. Rehnquist, who was named to the court by President Nixon in 1972, was appointed Chief Justice by president Reagan in 1986.

Early Monday morning, President George W. Bush nominated John Roberts as the new Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The rather quick announcement about who would fill the void left by Rehnquist ended speculation over who would be nominated and how quickly it would be done.

"This is a very important time in our nation's history," said WagerWeb.com CEO Dave Johnson. "President George W. Bush has acted quickly in nominating John Roberts to the position of Chief Justice. The nomination also reopens the void for the position of Associate Justice, which will be vacated by Sandra Day O'Conner. The pool of potential candidates includes the current Attorney General, Alberto R. Gonzales, as well as a large number of female candidates."

"We expect to take a large number of wagers on whether or not Roberts will be confirmed, as well as who will be nominated as the next Associate Justice. Election Propositions have seen tremendous growth over the last few years. We wrote over 10,000 individual wagers on the 2004 Presidential Election. We expect to see similar interest with this wager, as well."