The Party Poker World Open IV is making the final preparations to kick off in a few days and sportbetting aficionados will also have the opportunity to place bets on this long awaited poker tournament. Irish Poker Open winner Neil Channing has been listed as the favorite player to win the Party Poker World Open IV. According to PartyBets.com, Neil 'Bad Beat' Channing is listed 17/1 to win the tournament, followed by Ben Roberts and Andy Ward who are currently listed at 21/1. Andrew Feldman, Ian Frazer, Surinder Sunar, John Tabatabai, Thomas Bihl and Juha Helppi are all listed at 26/1.

"There was no choice but to make Neil Channing favorite to win considering his form but he does have a strong heat featuring his pal Mick McCool. 16/1 may be far too short a price to back for the man they used to call 'Bad Beat' but now "One Out" but we've been getting stung on these markets and are taking aversive action! Others who have attracted early interest include Ben Roberts and Andrew Feldman. Mike Sexton is a fantastic addition to the World Open line-up but he features in a heat that also includes Barny Boatman, Marc Goodwin, Jan Peter Jachtmann and Juha Helppi so he will have his work cut out." a Party Bets spokesman said.

An army of professional poker players will be taking part in the $8000 buy-in event including European Open IV winner Nick Slade, John Tabatabai, Ian Frazer, Theo Jorgensen, Ross Boatman, Jon Magill, Marty Smyth, Jon Kalmar, Liam Flood, Thomas Bihl, Roy Brindley, Surinder Sunar, Pippa Flanders and Roberto Romanello. The event kicks off next April 25^th and the entire list if runners and odds for the tournament are available at PartyBets.