Emmy Exclusive: Vegas Oddsmaker Johnny Avello Picks Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

By Tom Rose
Fancast.com

Summer is gone so TV turns inevitably to the Fall season and that means the Emmys can’t be far behind. This year the picks have produced a well-rounded, well-regarded crop of nominees, but the suspense ends on ABC, Sunday, September 21.

Just in case you have trouble sorting out the leaders, we’ve asked Johnny Avello, Director of Race and Sports Operations at Wynn Las Vegas, to set the odds in each of the 6 most anticipated categories and comment on his top pick.

Always the Gentleman, it’s ladies first as Johnny weighs in on Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:

25 to 1: Mary-Louise Parker on Weeds. With her second nomination for the role of Nancy Botwin, Parker seems eager to do anything to make her stick out in front of the pack. Last year, she posed nude for a Weeds promo, as Eve in the Garden of Eden, and she has appeared topless several times on screen this season. Thank you Showtime.

10 to 1: America Ferrera on Ugly Betty. Last year’s Emmy winner in the category, Ferrera wears braces, has bushy eyebrows and a disheveled wig, capped off by make-up and clothing intended to downplay her own naturally beautiful looks and figure. It’s in sharp contrast to the rest of the cast of “Ugly Betty” where everybody else is “glammed up.” Ferrera herself coined the term “Bettification” to describe the process of creating her onscreen persona at ABC. Seems to be working.

5 to 2: Julia Louis-Dreyfus on The New Adventures Of Old Christine. As Christine Campbell, Julia struggles to keep pace with the other moms at her son’s private school, while trying to make it on the dating scene and competing with her Ex in his new relationship with another, younger Christine. On “The New Adventures Of Old Christine,” The Seinfeld veteran (and Emmy winner on that show) tries to follow up on her win for the same role in 2006. Seinfeld curse? What Seinfeld curse?

2 to 1: Tina Fey on 30 Rock. Fey, at 37, has become the female comic sensation of the decade after winning Emmy and Golden Globe awards. She became the first female head writer on “Saturday Night Live,” wrote the screenplay and co-starred in the 2004 hit movie “Mean Girls” and is credited as creator, star and executive producer of 30 Rock. After the success of the series at the Emmys last year, Tina followed up with an even more critically acclaimed season of “the show within a show” on NBC and should be in the running right up to the last minute.

9 to 5: Christina Applegate on Samantha Who?. The former teen star has matured beyond the ditzy blonde of “Married… with Children” fame, and her work in the years since has gained her the appreciation she deserves as a legitimate, multi-talented actress. But her recent announcement of a bout with breast cancer is sure to draw at least a few votes for her very worthy performance on this episode of “Samantha Who?” We have to agree with Johnny Avello on his comment for this top pick: “Competition is stiff.”

Stay tuned for our next installment, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.