Latest Line: 2 to 1 That Banks Will Nationalize; 1 to 20 Tha

Okay, that 2 to 1 isn’t exactly the official Vegas line, but if there were a line on whether some of the top banks in the nation would be nationalized or not, today that line would’ve tightened significantly.

A couple of hours ago, Chris Dodd, the Senate Banking Committee chair, said a short-term nationalization of a few big banks is looking more and more likely—especially since the share price of firms like Citi and Bank of America crept closer to $0 (today, Citi’s have fallen 17 percent $2, while BofA’s slid another 5 percent to $3.75).

Prior to Dodd’s comments, BofA CEO Kenny “Banker of the Year” Lewis again played the “nationalization ain’t gonna happen” card, backing up his hand with the fact that his firm is turning a profit (albeit a slim one) these days. Of course, he failed to remind us that BofA is doing so with tens of billions of the U.S. Treasury’s cash. And he didn't comment on that little subpoena he recently received from New York State Attorney General "Raggedy" Andy Cuomo in connection with the Merrill bonus fiasco.

Another good bet is that at least a few folks at the Swiss bank UBS will be coming to witness stands near you to name names. And according to Bloomberg, the late Heath Ledger is the surest bet to win an Oscar this Sunday night.