With the U.S. staying competitive as usual, it is no surprise they are one of the favorites to take home the most gold medals at the upcoming 2006 Winter Olympic Games.  Hosted in Turin, Italy, the games are scheduled to begin in a week, as is the surge of bets coming in around the world at various online sports books and casinos.

Approximately 2,500 athletes from eighty-five countries will be competing in the games, which for one reason or another, seem like they are stirring up more anticipation and excitement than ever.  And while the US is one of the favorites to take home the most gold medals, they are not the favorite.  Germany is actually favored to take home the most medals, including gold medals, while Norway is in third place behind the U.S.  However, as far as gold medals are concerned, Norway is the second favorite, while the U.S. coming in at third.

Leading online sportsbooks have already begun posting odds on the medal count, as well as a horde of other events.  One of the most widely bet on events is expected to be the men's hockey championship, which as of now, is favoring Canada the most.  The Czech Republic and Sweden are close behind in this competitive lot.  Other interesting bets include one reported by Sportsbook.com, which is predicting how many gold medals the US champion downhill skier, Bode Miller, will win.

The 2002 Olympic Games were the best the U.S. ever fared at, accumulating a total of thirty-four medals, ten of which were gold.  With the pressure on for a repeat, it is being waged that many of the online bets coming in will be on US athletes.