ABC Swears 'The Bachelor' Winner Is a Secret
By Deena Beasley
November 15, 2002 06:00 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- According to at least one gambling venue, school psychologist Helene is a sure thing to win the heart of ABC's "The Bachelor," but the network swears that the winner is still a secret that has not leaked out.
An online gaming company last week stopped taking bets on the taped reality series in which a pre-selected bachelor winnows a field of 25 women down to one potential wife, after an avalanche of big bets on Helene clicked in from Springfield, Missouri, hometown of the show's star, 28-year-old banker Aaron Buerge.
"Nobody's been back to that town since the filming of the show, so there is no way anyone could have seen them there," ABC spokeswoman Lauren Tobin said on Thursday.
She confirmed that Buerge and his final pick have been out together elsewhere, but "never in Springfield." And, of course, she would not reveal the name of the lucky winner.
Kyle Frantini, a spokesman for Antigua-based BetWWTS.com, said about 60 percent of betting at the site on "The Bachelor" came from Springfield, and the money is on Helene.
"Our management thinks some people might have seen them together or heard from someone who did ... we had people who were referring each other to the site," he said.
Tobin sourced the rumor to a Springfield radio station which claimed that Buerge and Helene had been seen together.
"We would never start a story like this, but it does keep the buzz going and reminds people to watch the show," she said.
RATINGS CLIMB, ODDS FALL
This is not the first time the winner of a reality game show has been rumored. When the inaugural edition of the CBS hit "Survivor" was shown in 2000, a Canadian college student claimed to have hacked into the network's web site and discovered that Gervase Peterson had won the show's million dollar prize.
The rumor was proven wrong, however, when Peterson was voted off on the show's 10th episode.
On "The Bachelor" -- the finale will air next Wednesday -- Buerge is still debating whether to propose to 27-year-old New Jersey native Helene, or Brooke, a 22-year-old college student from Alabama.
At the end of October, Brooke's odds were 2 to 1, compared to 14 to 2 for Helene, but by the time betting was stopped, Brooke was even odds and Helene had narrowed to 2 to 1, Frantini said.
Viewers have learned that Buerge and Helene share a love for seafood, but much has been made of a conversation last week in which a teary-eyed Brooke said she was scared that Buerge would make a mistake in his choice.
"I think Helene will win. I think Brooke is a little too emotional and maybe a touch possessive and clingy," one fan said in an online chat room.
Frantini said BetWTTS.com will honor wagers made before bets were halted, but odds are that future editions of the show won't be featured on the gaming site.
"This might be the last time for bets on "The Bachelor" ... we understand that there are huge fines for disclosing the outcome, but who knows?," he said.
He did acknowledge that hits at the site have spiked since betting on the ABC game show was suspended, but said it was hard to tell how much was due to the normal seasonal increase in fall betting on sports like NFL Football.
ABC's ratings have also climbed.
The network said last night's ratings were its best in over 3 1/2 years among women in the coveted 18 to 34 age bracket.
The latest episode of the show drew an average of 16.8 million viewers -- up from 16.3 million the previous week and from 10.8 million for the same episode of last season's edition of the show.
ABC said the results mean it beat NBC's "West Wing" in the hour among total viewers for the second consecutive week.
By Deena Beasley
November 15, 2002 06:00 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- According to at least one gambling venue, school psychologist Helene is a sure thing to win the heart of ABC's "The Bachelor," but the network swears that the winner is still a secret that has not leaked out.
An online gaming company last week stopped taking bets on the taped reality series in which a pre-selected bachelor winnows a field of 25 women down to one potential wife, after an avalanche of big bets on Helene clicked in from Springfield, Missouri, hometown of the show's star, 28-year-old banker Aaron Buerge.
"Nobody's been back to that town since the filming of the show, so there is no way anyone could have seen them there," ABC spokeswoman Lauren Tobin said on Thursday.
She confirmed that Buerge and his final pick have been out together elsewhere, but "never in Springfield." And, of course, she would not reveal the name of the lucky winner.
Kyle Frantini, a spokesman for Antigua-based BetWWTS.com, said about 60 percent of betting at the site on "The Bachelor" came from Springfield, and the money is on Helene.
"Our management thinks some people might have seen them together or heard from someone who did ... we had people who were referring each other to the site," he said.
Tobin sourced the rumor to a Springfield radio station which claimed that Buerge and Helene had been seen together.
"We would never start a story like this, but it does keep the buzz going and reminds people to watch the show," she said.
RATINGS CLIMB, ODDS FALL
This is not the first time the winner of a reality game show has been rumored. When the inaugural edition of the CBS hit "Survivor" was shown in 2000, a Canadian college student claimed to have hacked into the network's web site and discovered that Gervase Peterson had won the show's million dollar prize.
The rumor was proven wrong, however, when Peterson was voted off on the show's 10th episode.
On "The Bachelor" -- the finale will air next Wednesday -- Buerge is still debating whether to propose to 27-year-old New Jersey native Helene, or Brooke, a 22-year-old college student from Alabama.
At the end of October, Brooke's odds were 2 to 1, compared to 14 to 2 for Helene, but by the time betting was stopped, Brooke was even odds and Helene had narrowed to 2 to 1, Frantini said.
Viewers have learned that Buerge and Helene share a love for seafood, but much has been made of a conversation last week in which a teary-eyed Brooke said she was scared that Buerge would make a mistake in his choice.
"I think Helene will win. I think Brooke is a little too emotional and maybe a touch possessive and clingy," one fan said in an online chat room.
Frantini said BetWTTS.com will honor wagers made before bets were halted, but odds are that future editions of the show won't be featured on the gaming site.
"This might be the last time for bets on "The Bachelor" ... we understand that there are huge fines for disclosing the outcome, but who knows?," he said.
He did acknowledge that hits at the site have spiked since betting on the ABC game show was suspended, but said it was hard to tell how much was due to the normal seasonal increase in fall betting on sports like NFL Football.
ABC's ratings have also climbed.
The network said last night's ratings were its best in over 3 1/2 years among women in the coveted 18 to 34 age bracket.
The latest episode of the show drew an average of 16.8 million viewers -- up from 16.3 million the previous week and from 10.8 million for the same episode of last season's edition of the show.
ABC said the results mean it beat NBC's "West Wing" in the hour among total viewers for the second consecutive week.