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Last Updated: Thursday, October 1, 2026 at 05:00 PM
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Thousands of gamblers cash in as Ratzinger elected Pope Benedict XVI

Today's newly elected pope is hardly the only winner.

Today's newly elected pope is hardly the only winner.

Thousands worldwide placed bets on Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger through the Web _ and a few hundred even correctly guessed he'd take the name Benedict.

Paddy Power, an Internet-based bookmaker in Ireland, has taken bets on John Paul's successor for the past five years. After today's selection of Ratzinger, Paddy Power was collecting _ or paying out _ on more than ten thousand bets totaling more than 260-thousand dollars.

The biggest winner was someone who put down more than a thousand dollars Saturday on a Ratzinger victory at odds of six to one, which meant a 73-hundred dollar payout.

Somebody else scored a thousand dollars after correctly guessing the new pontiff would take the name Benedict.

%@AP Links

On the Net: www.paddypower.com