WILLEMSTAD, Curacao, September 8 /PRNewswire/ --

- Leading Online Bookmaker, PinnacleSports.com, Opens the Book on 
Renowned International Literary Award - the Man Booker Prize 2009

Just minutes after the Man Booker Prize final short list was announced
earlier today, PinnacleSports.com began calculating odds on who would win the
prestigious literary award in 2009.

The prize aims to reward the best novel of the year written by a citizen
of the Commonwealth, or the Republic of Ireland, and the remaining six
nominees have survived from an original field of 132 contenders.

With odds finalised just minutes after the shortlist was announced,
leading online bookmaker PinnacleSports.com has priced Hilary Mantel with
'Wolf Hall' -- her novel about Thomas Cromwell -- the favourite with odds of
11/10* to receive the pounds Sterling 50,000 first prize on October 6, and
more importantly, the international acclaim and boost to sales that the award
bestows on the successful author.

With an industry leading reputation for providing consistent value to the
player, the oddsmakers at PinnacleSports.com, who specialise in book betting
odds, list JM Coetzee (Summertime) -- one of only two authors to have won the
award twice -- with odds of 4/1*. AS Byatt (The Children's Book), also a
former winner in 1990, is given odds of 13/2*.

Sarah Waters, who has been twice short-listed for the Man Booker Prize,
has made the 2009 short-list with her ghost story, 'The Little Stranger', the
best selling book (so far) of the six. PinnacleSports.com lists Waters as a
7/2* second favourite.

Simon Mawer makes the list with another historical novel, 'The Glass
Room', given odds of 11/1*, the same price as debut novelist Adam Foulds,
with 'The Quickening Maze', who completes the short list.

"Whether in traditional sports, or specialist markets such as literary
awards, the betting action at PinnacleSports.com often acts as a reliable
barometer to the eventual outcome," said Simon Noble, spokesperson for
PinnacleSports.com. "With one of the strongest Man Booker Prize short lists
in recent memory, we anticipate a closely matched and fluctuating betting
market."

(*All odds subject to change)
    Full Man Booker Short-List Odds from www.PinnacleSports.com

    Hilary Mantel (Wolf Hall) 11/10*
    Sarah Waters (The Little Stranger) 7/2*
    JM Coetzee (Summertime) 4/1*
    AS Byatt (The Children's Book) 13/2*
    Adam Foulds (The Quickening Maze) 11/1*
    Simon Mawer (The Glass Room) 11/1*

For a complete set of odds, go to www.pinnaclesports.com

About PinnacleSports.com

PinnacleSports.com is a leading International online sports betting site
serving customers in more than 100 countries. Founded in 1998,
PinnacleSports.com was the first sports book to introduce a reduced margin
pricing model with odds that offer up to 60% better value than traditional
bookmakers. Fully licensed and regulated in the Netherlands Antilles, the
company offers a secure environment for sports betting, poker and casino
gaming.