Online gambling sites have deemed Ace Young the favorite to win the fifth season of American Idol that begins its semifinals tonight.

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Young, a 25-year-old who grew up in Boulder, CO and currently lives in Los Angeles, CA, was installed as a 7-2 favorite to win American Idol 5 when Pinnacle Sports first began accepting wagering on who will emerge as the show's eventual winner on Friday. "This marks the first time that any sportsbook has offered betting on who'll win American Idol this early in the show," stated Pinnacle Sports representative Simon Noble.

Trailing just behind Young were two of American Idol 5's female semifinalists -- Katharine McPhee and Paris Bennett, who were listed at 4-1 and 5-1 odds respectively. Other semifinalists favorited to win American Idol's fifth season crown include Chris Daughtry (8-1), Kellie Pickler (8-1), Taylor Hicks (10-1) and Lisa Tucker (11-1).

The odds for the rest of the twenty-four semifinalists tailed off sharply after Tucker, with Heather Cox (22-1), Will Makar (24-1), Stevie Scott (27-1), Jose "Sway" Penala (29-1), Patrick Hall (31-1), Becky O'Donohue (45-1) and Mandisa Hundley (47-1) placing ahead of 65-1 longshots Ayla Brown, Bobby Bennett, Brenna Gethers, Bucky Covington, David Radford, Elliott Yamin, Gedeon McKinney, Kevin Covias, Kinnik Sky, and Melissa McGhee.

In addition to Pinnacle, numerous other wagering websites have installed Young as American Idol 5's favorite, with Bennet and McPhee also trailing close behind.

Before it premiered in early January, Pinnacle and Oasis Casino had deemed World Wrestling Entertainment professional wrestling "diva" Stacy Keibler the favorite to win the second edition of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Keibler -- a favorite of the show's judges -- will face off against former 98 Degrees member (and soon-to-be Jessica Simpson ex-brother-in-law) Drew Lachey and former NFL star Jerry during Thursday's final performance show broadcast of the ballroom dancing competition.

Pinnacle had originally listed famously tanned actor and former The Family reality show host George Hamilton second at 5-1 odds. Hamilton ended up finishing fifth in the ABC reality show. Lachey had followed behind Hamilton in third at 9-1 odds, with Rice listed as a 19-1 longshot.

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