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Degenerate gambling question

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by JayFarrar, May 17, 2010.

  1. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Seconded, Inky.

    Millman's stuff on ESPN.com is great, but virtually all of it is behind the Insider paywall. They probably figure gamblers will pay for anything.

    Batman's right about the obscure conferences and wiseguys. There are a lot of wiseguys who also openly mourn the loss of the Arena League. For every average Joe who scoffs "who bets THAT stuff?" there is a guy in Vegas with a nice car who bets that stuff quite well.
     
  2. JayFarrar

    JayFarrar Well-Known Member

    So Wake Forest won, 29-19, that day and the published line had them as 3-point favorites
    And if you bet fifty bucks and won, with the minus-3, what would have been the payout?
    Because it seems you aren't really talking serious money here.
     
  3. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member


    More minituae:

    With a normal phone-bank book featuring dual familiarity, the presumption would be that you'd clear $50, based on the implied
    11-10 lay ($55 to win $50).

    Funny thing, in Vegas . . . if you walk up to a window and look
    to make the same bet . . . frequently, the individual taking the bet
    will take you literally and put you down for a PRECISE $50 lay, to
    win slightly less, based on the prevailing 11-10 ratio. If you wanted
    precisely as much action as received on the phone, you'd have to
    say "Lay $55 to win $50", or words to that effect.
     
  4. trifectarich

    trifectarich Well-Known Member

    But they're not as bad as those who wager on exhibition baseball. And believe it or not, there were lines available on last week's Miss USA pageant. (Can't you just hear the people in the sports books? "Oh, Miss Idaho, who did your hair?!")
     
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