DUBLIN, Ireland (AP):

Ireland's major betting company, Paddy Power, is so sure that Barack Obama will win the United States presidential election next month that it paid out more than €1 million (US$1.35 million) on pro-Obama bets yesterday.

"We declare this race well and truly over and congratulate all those who backed Obama - your winnings await you," said a company spokesman, who is also named Paddy Power.

The company explained it was paying out early to reward its customers and acknowledge the inevitable. Power, the spokesman, said the company had been taking "one-way traffic for Obama since the start of the summer".

The biggest winner: Someone who gambled €100,000 (US$135,000) and collected €150,000 (US$202,000).

The most visionary? A €50 (US$67) bet placed in 2005 that, because Obama was rated a 50-to-1 no-hoper at the time, paid out €2,550 (US$3,417).

Nonetheless, the Dublin-based company is still taking new bets on the winner - and a John McCain upset on November 4 on a bet placed today would collect €6 for every euro wagered. By contrast, a winning euro (dollar) bet on Obama would net just €1.11 (US$1.11).

The company's range of other US presidential bets include whether McCain will drop Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate (a 10-to-1 long-shot), and whether Obama might dump his running mate Joe Biden in favour of Hillary Clinton (an even more distant 66-to-1 chance).

There are also odds on whether each of the 50 US states and District of Columbia will go Republican red or Democratic blue.

Paddy Power PLC has a long record of attracting media attention by paying out early, particularly on political contests - and also a recent record of getting the result spectacularly wrong.