Wagers offered on NYSE chief’s future

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Monday, Sept. 15, 2003 | 9:13 a.m.

NEW YORK -- It's becoming more likely that Richard Grasso will resign as head of the New York Stock Exchange by year-end, according to bettors staking money on his career.

Contracts tracking the probability that the exchange's chairman and chief executive will announce his resignation by Dec. 31 began trading Thursday at TradeSports Exchange Ltd.'s website, where everything from the outcomes of sporting events to the likelihood of Osama bin Laden's capture can be traded.

Traders paid $4 today for the right to receive $10 if the contract pays off. This puts the odds of Grasso's departure from the Big Board at less than 2-to-1. On Friday, they were about 3-to-1. The furor over Grasso's $140 million payout earlier this month has made it harder for him to focus on running the exchange, traders said.