Some readers upon seeing this title might think that only cultural icons — e.g., Cher, Madonna, Elton — are recognizable by just one name, so who’s “Billy”? But if you’ve been involved in the sports betting world for all or part of the last four decades, Billy is all you need to hear to know […]
Posts in category Sports betting
The Joy of Sports Betting
Last night I watched the World Baseball Classic (WBC) semi-final between Japan and Mexico. I think it was the most perfect baseball game I’ve ever watched. The next day I’m still coming down from the excitement. Coming back from 0-3 and 3-5, Japan won with a walk-off double by 24-year-old Munetaka Murakami, MVP and Triple […]
Integrity
The SCOTUS decision to allow states to legalize sports betting has spurred executives and owners of sports leagues, who for years had railed against the evils of the practice, to now embrace it for one reason: they see easy $$$. The hypocrisy is stunning, but really not surprising. One of the ways owners and league […]
NFL Draft Betting in Nevada
Times are tough if you’re a Nevada sports bettor. There’s not much to bet on and not many places to bet. It’s not completely dead, though. Sports books are one casino component that could have remained open in April. With the apps now available, no direct customer contact is needed so it’s up to the […]
The Straddle
When betting sports, knowing how much of a house edge you’re initially up against can be confusing. There are a handful of terms you’ll see that basically mean the same thing, but can be tough to interpret for a beginner. For odds presented in the modern American format, they’ll be standardized and based on a […]
CUT!
One thing I’ve learned over my gambling career is that Hollywood producers couldn’t care less about making the mechanics of gambling scenarios in movies and TV shows accurate. They figure viewers are focused on the story and characters, and accuracy doesn’t matter. In the ’80s, there was a TV series called Crime Story that was filmed in […]
Mattress Mack and the Astros Hedge
Postscript In 2022, Mack bet $10 million to win $72.6 million if the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. When the Astros won 4 games to 2, Mack collected on the biggest sports bet of all time (and more than the entire state of Nevada has ever won in an entire […]
The Biggest Mistake Made by Each State in Legal...
In Part I of this discussion I set down a list of the biggest mistakes each state has made so far on the path to legalizing sports wagering. The goal here is not to shame a state for being progressive enough to offer legal sports wagering. Instead, the goal is to encourage new states to […]
The Biggest Mistake Made By Each State in Legal...
In the first year of widespread legalized sports betting in the US, we’ve seen 17 states take the plunge. The states that were the first movers in this space provide a good example of how it can be done and the profits that can be made. They also provide some examples of what mistakes future states […]
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