Looking for an Oscars viewing party? Check this out

So you weren’t invited to be in the audience for the 87th Academy Awards (5:30 p.m. Sunday, KTNV-TV, Channel 13). That doesn’t mean you have to watch them from your couch in that ratty old bathrobe with your friends Ben & Jerry.

Get out and socialize at either of two very different Oscar viewing parties at the Palms and Wynn Las Vegas.

You can walk the red carpet alongside Lance Burton and cast members from “Jersey Boys,” “Million Dollar Quartet,” “Absinthe,” “Rock of Ages,” “Chippendales,” “Thunder From Down Under” and “Fantasy” as part of the sixth annual “Variety Salutes Hollywood” party.

Benefiting Variety The Children’s Charity, the event kicks off at 3:30 p.m. Sunday followed by Academy Awards coverage on the big screen at Brenden Theatres at the Palms starting at 4. Tickets are $25 and include $25 in theater concessions. VIP tickets are $250 and include a special Oscar-themed menu at Alize. For more information, see www.onalv.org.

Over at the Wynn Las Vegas race and sports book, you can watch the Academy Awards and win prizes ranging from drinks, buffet meals and dinners to tickets to “Le Reve” and “ShowStoppers” and stays at the hotel. The free event kicks off at 3 p.m. Sunday and will include an Oscar ballot contest, trivia, singing and lip-synch contests, and a give-your-best-Oscar-speech contest.

The party is part of the Oscar excitement that’s been brewing over at Wynn Las Vegas since the nominations were revealed Jan. 15, thanks to the ever-evolving odds being posted by Johnny Avello, Wynn’s director of race and sports operations.

“The process starts long before the nominations are even given out,” Avello says. “I have a list of the movies that I believe will be nominated. I talk to some insiders in the Hollywood community, some people I’ve known for a while, kind of get their opinion.”

He also sees each of the nominated movies and performances. Although he has “Birdman” listed at even money and “Boyhood” at 6-5, his favorite of the contenders is “The Imitation Game.”

Unlike setting odds on sports events, where the line changes based on the amount of money being wagered, Avello updates the Oscar odds himself once the Golden Globes and various guild awards are presented. That’s because it’s illegal to bet on the Academy Awards in Nevada.

At least for now.

“We’ve been talking to the Gaming Control Board recently about doing some additional things, and they’ve been pretty open,” Avello says. “So I think we’re going to be able to do some things, and take baby steps, and eventually, possibly this will be on the menu.”

The drawback, Avello notes, would be the lack of last-minute wagering. The Super Bowl is on the board for two weeks, but he says 85 percent of the action occurs during the last 24 hours. Oscar betting would have to cease the minute the votes are tabulated by the accounting firm, because it’s illegal to bet on anything in which the outcome is known.

Still, Avello says, “We’re a lot closer to doing things than we were a couple of years ago.”

Here’s a look at his final odds in the top six categories, as well as his favorites in the other 18:

Best picture: “Birdman” EVEN; “Boyhood” 6-5; “The Imitation Game” 30-1; “The Grand Budapest Hotel” 35-1; “American Sniper” 40-1; “The Theory of Everything” 75-1; “Selma” 100-1; “Whiplash” 125-1

Best director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, “Birdman” 4-5; Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” 11-10; Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” 30-1; Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game” 50-1; Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher” 60-1

Best actor: Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything” 1-2; Michael Keaton, “Birdman” 9-5; Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper” 25-1; Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game” 40-1; Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher” 100-1

Best actress: Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” 1-12; Reese Witherspoon, “Wild” 10-1; Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl” 25-1; Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything” 60-1; Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night” 75-1

Best supporting actor: J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash” 1-9; Edward Norton, “Birdman” 12-1; Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher” 18-1; Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood” 35-1; Robert Duvall, “The Judge” 60-1

Best supporting actress: Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood” 1-9; Emma Stone, “Birdman” 12-1; Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods” 20-1; Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game” 30-1; Laura Dern, “Wild” 35-1

Adapted screenplay: “Whiplash”

Original screenplay: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Animated feature film: “How to Train Your Dragon 2”

Cinematography: “Birdman”

Costume design: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Documentary feature: “Citizenfour”

Documentary short subject: “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1”

Film editing: “Boyhood”

Foreign language film: “Ida”

Makeup and hairstyling: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Original score: “The Theory of Everything”

Original song: “Glory” from “Selma”