How to Help Your Child Break Into Showbiz

 So you've been told your child is a natural performer, but how do you get from compliments to credits? While the entertainment business is a tough one to break into, there are a few initial steps towards employing your child's creativity which you can take long before you start seeking representation.

Step One - Be Honest. Every parent is probably a little biased about their own child's talents and looks, but showbiz isn't for everyone. Taking an unbiased look at your child to find out if s/he has what it takes is possible. Just remember that the more honest you are with yourself about his/her current abilities, the more likely s/he is to succeed in the long run. Children In Film offers an online assessment quiz in their KidStart program.

Step Two - Get Organized. Organization is extremely important in your path to success. Balancing your child's career and schoolwork along with the regular demands of having a family and a life of your own is a challenge. Getting organized involves having a cell phone with voicemail, setting up a post office box or permanent address and keeping a detailed datebook or PDA Scheduler. There are also important records and documents you must obtain such as work permits and blocked trust accounts.

Step Three - Take Photos https://markmeets.com. Photographs are the most important tool for you child's success. If your child is five or under, or if you're just beginning to shop for agents, snapshots are suitable. All too often people spend money on professional headshots before acquiring an agent and then have to have them redone at the request of the agent.

Step Four - Take Classes. Enrolling your child in acting classes, workshops and other specialty classes like dance or voice is an excellent way to prepare them for future auditions and roles. Classes are also a great place to network and gain exposure. But remember this: a class is a service you pay for in order to improve your child's skills. It is not a guarantee of work, representation or immediate success. Going to school does not guarantee that you'll get into the best college; it's just a good start.

Conventional wisdom contends that sports and entertainment wagers can't be equated because, like apples and oranges, they're two different things.

Somewhat strangely, though, considering the demographic groups to which many entertainment/political propositions are crafted to appeal, sports gamblers are their biggest bettors (although more than a few little old ladies from Pasadena eagerly await the Academy Awards every year).

If you don't believe it, watch the frenzy on Internet gaming posting forums if Pinny takes down "American Idol" odds for even a few hours.

Teeney-boppers may comprise the target audience, but they're not the ones dialing island sportsbooks.

"It's difficult to compare entertainment props to our sports props," a Bodog.com book manager said.

"Sports props are usually the interest of stats-crazy sports fanatics, whereas entertainment props are more directed toward water cooler bragging rights.

"People take personal pride in predicting Greg Oden's points totals, but they'll tell everyone they know if they correctly predicted the winner of 'Dancing with the Stars' or if they have placed a few dollars on who will father Britney's next child (Bodog's options include Bill Clinton, George Bush and, at 12/1, Hugh Hefner)."

Nevada gamers only allow betting on pure college and pro athletic competitions, along with car, buggy and four-legged creature racing, all things that don't involve balloting.

No Oscars, no Emmys, no Grammys, no nothing -- except boxing.

Go figure.

(Hmmm ... could that sound of music be Sin City coffers jingling in anticipation of next month's De La Hoya-Mayweather megamatch?

Word on the street is it will be Vegas' biggest ring payday ever -- bigger than than Frazier-Ali, Leonard-Hearns and the infamous Tyson-Holyfield biting bout a decade ago.)

Betting on politics -- a "sport" in many minds, especially as it concerns American elections -- is very popular, except in the USA, where wagering on voting is verboten.

The grapevine whispered that several high-profile US gamblers nevertheless supported themselves by strategically betting GW futures online in 2004.

This year, some Caribbean bet shops already have narrowed their 2008 US Presidential wagering fields to a trio of candidates (Olympic/The Greek) in each major party.

Others list lengthy candidate rosters (Gamblers Palace) or further have cut bait by reducing the proposition to whether Democrats or Republicans (CRIS) will prevail.

Hillary -- but watch out for Barack! -- and Rudy are current favorites.

The former New York City mayor appears to be the public choice in a showdown with the ex-First Lady, though polls indicate many people figure ticket headliners won't be determined for another 10 or so months and that HRC might have a better shot at winning the nomination than a general election.

Be wary for now, however.

Some books try to hook the suckers with fishy lures, such as listing foreign-born California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger among GOP hopefuls or former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who already has withdrawn, among donkey prospects.

Actually, anything goes offshore: hurricanes, global warming, celebrity babies' daddies, international-impact elections (British, French, Canadian, Australian), even America's annual high school spelling bee.

The latest Don Imus potty-mouth incident that shook Earth has begat wide-ranging speculation about the shock jock's future in a BetUS.com prop, which asks what's in his currently snowy crystal ball.

Writing a tell-all bio is plus $2.00, while Imus landing a gig on "Today" is plus $150.00.

Other choices include becoming an Obama campaign coordinator, joining Howard Stern at Sirius, getting divorced and joining the staff of the Rutgers University women's basketball team.

Reality TV alone has spawned a galaxy of wagering propositions, beginning in the mid-1990s with "Survivor" and continuing into today with productions such as "The Apprentice," "Big Brother" and "The Bachelor."

Remember the brouhaha that ensued at Bodog.com when someone at CBS allegedly blabbed after taping about who won an early "Survivor?"

The "eye" made sure that didn't happen again.

If you're a "Sopranos" fan, check out Bodog.com's "prop culture."

"The Family" boasts more collective props than the New York Yankees.

Bodog.com captured worldwide intrigue with a prop that asked if Heather Mills, the estranged wife of former Beatle Paul McCartney, would lose her prosthetic leg during taping of "Dancing with the Stars."

She still was alive, leg attached, entering this week's elimination.

Another wanted to know if an "American Idol" contestant would throw up on stage.

Just about every offshore bet shop has numbers on who will win this season's series, described as a singing competition, and all favor Melinda Doolittle.

Likewise, they indicate Phil Stacey will be the next contestant to go, though prices on both props vary, illustrating once more the value of shopping around.

Ditto re: Sanjaya Malakar, the mop-haired teen from India who has startled observers with his staying power.

Now 5/2 at Bodog.com and plus $2.85 at CRIS, oddsmakers obviously have begun paying serious attention to the one-time bow-wow.

"'The American Idol' props have been extremely popular even amongst the most experienced gamblers," the Bodog.com sportsbook source said.

"'Idol's' popularity has reached into the stratosphere when you consider the fact you have the quitessential anti-Idol, Howard Stern, talking up the show and encouraging his listeners to vote.