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Odds to Win America’s Got Talent 2020 – Archie Williams Listed at +160

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in Entertainment

Updated Mar 19, 2021 · 10:30 AM PDT

simon cowell smiling
Simon Cowell arrives at the "America's Got Talent" Season 13 Finale Show red carpet at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)
  • Season 15 of America’s Got Talent is set to premiere on May 26th
  • Should bettors place a wager on sentimental favorite Archie Williams?
  • See the odds plus predictions on a series of prop bets

America’s got talent. No, really, it does.

Certainly of late, based on the videos you see online, it appears that the only talent Americans possess is yelling at service industry workers. But Season 15 of America’s Got Talent is slated to come into American living rooms beginning on May 26th. The country is about to stand witness to the plethora of talents that exist within the nation’s borders.

Naturally, you can bet on it, and bettors have the rights and freedoms to express their opinions on a number of America’s Got Talent-related prop wagers.

Who will be the winner? What sort of act will they be? And what of Archie Williams, America’s new heartthrob? Is this competition his to lose?

Odds on Winning Performance of 2020 America’s Got Talent

Type of Act Odds
Music Act -190
Magic Act +400
Ventriloquist Act +600
Dance Act +650
Comedy Act +750
Any Other Type of Act +250

Odds taken May 25th.

In 14 previous America’s Got Talent competitions, 50% of winners sang their way to the title. Surprisingly, ventriloquists are next with three titles. They’re followed by their fellow future-children’s-birthday-party entertainers, magicians, with two victories.

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One title was won by a dancer, and one by a dog act. Comedians, as Rodney Dangerfield frequently noted, get no respect. They’ve also got no America’s Got Talent titles.

Pick: Music Act (-190)

Gender of Winning Performer of 2020 America’s Got Talent

Sex of Performer Odds
Male -450
Female +300
Mixed +800
Transgender +4000

When it comes to America’s Got Talent, it’s a man’s world. Ten of the 14 performers to win the coveted crown have been male.

While females do own three titles, it’s a fact to state that a woman has never emerged as the America’s Got Talent champion. All three of these wins were by children – two 12-year-olds and one 11-year-old.

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In 2012, the Olate Dogs – a team of two men and several four-legged entertainers – won the only group title in the show’s history.

Pick: Male (-450)

Will a Group or Solo Performer win 2020 America’s Got Talent?

Type of Act Odds
Solo Act -190
Group +250

America likes to believe it’s the country of the rugged individual, and they pretty much are until you tell them they can’t get a haircut or go to Applebee’s for mozzarella sticks.

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America’s Got Talent is a true barometer of America and its belief in the rights of the individual. In 14 years, only one group has copped the crown. And they were barely a group – two men and a gaggle of pooches who comprised the Olate Dogs.

Are you going to go against hundreds of years of American tradition? If you don’t think America is all about the individual, then you go ahead and try to merge on the interstate during rush hour.

Pick: Solo Act (-190).

Archie Williams 2020 America’s Got Talent Props

Outcome No Odds Yes Odds
Williams Wins 2020 AGT -250 +170
Williams Reaches 2020 AGT Final -2500 +800

Clearly, the early favorite to win the 2020 edition of America’s Got Talent will be Archie Williams. The 59-year-old Williams was imprisoned from 1982-2019 for a crime he did not commit. The Innocence Project helped to prove he wasn’t the perpetrator of the crime via DNA evidence and gain his release from prison.

During his audition, Williams shared his heartbreaking story with the judges. Then he brought the house down, performing a rendition of the Elton John song Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.

There’s no doubt that this is a uniquely sad story with an albeit way too late happy ending. But is it enough to gain Williams the 2020 AGT crown? Probably not.

His story will drive ratings but as the title of the show suggests, it’s talent that wins the title.

Pick: No on both props

2020 America’s Got Talent Props

Outcome No Odds Yes Odds
Will 2020 AGT Winning Act Include Animals? -4000 +1000
Will a Child Win 2020 AGT? -250 +170

The first-ever winner of America’s Got Talent was 11-year-old singer Bianca Ryan in 2006. A decade later, 12-year-old singer Grace VanderWaal copped the crown. And in 2017, ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer, also 12, captured the championship.

That’s three kids in 14 years. That works out to 21.4% of winners, or less than a one-in-four shot.

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The odds are much longer when it comes to animals. As mentioned earlier, the Olate Dogs won in 2012. That’s the only time the victor wasn’t an individual human.

You can say a lot of things about American’s Got Talent but the fact of the matter is that AGT has only gone to the dogs once.

Pick: No on both props

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