Like the US to win a bunch of gold? There’s a bet for that

Workers install Olympic rings with the ocean as a backdrop during a training session at Copacabana beach volleyball arena at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Workers install Olympic rings with the ocean as a backdrop during a training session at Copacabana beach volleyball arena at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By Associated Press August 5, 2016 4 min read

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – The odds are good the U.S. will win the gold medal count once again in the Olympics.

The odds are even better this year that there will be some money bet on it.

Bookmakers in Las Vegas are making the U.S. the favorite to defend the gold medal crown from the London Olympics, with an over/under of 43.5 gold medals for the Americans. China is the only other country close to the U.S., with bookies putting that country’s gold medal line at 36.

It’s the first time since the 2000 Olympics in Sydney that bettors in Nevada have been able to put money on the games. So far, they haven’t exactly caught Olympic fever.

“We’ve probably had 10 people come to the counter to bet it,” said Jimmy Vaccaro, who sets odds at the South Point hotel sports book.