gambling

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New Site Lets Students Bet on Their Grades

And yes, they can bet they will flunk—with 'grade insurance'

(Newser) - A new website is taking wagers from American college students who want to bet on their own grades. Just as Las Vegas sports books set odds on sporting events, Ultrinsic will pay top dollar for A's, a little less for the more likely outcome of a B average or better,...

World Cup Gambling Rings Busted in Asia

More than 5,000 arrested in China, Singapore, Thailand

(Newser) - Illegal gambling dens across Asia are being rolled up in a post-World Cup crackdown. Police in China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore have found almost 800 illegal gambling dens, arrested more than 5,000 people, and seized almost $10 million in bets, the BBC reports . The establishments handled more than $155...

In Pennsylvania Lottery, 7s Are Really Wild

3,107 winning tickets force lottery to pay $7.2M above drawing revenue

(Newser) - Lucky sevens abounded in Pennsylvania Wednesday night as 3,107 tickets won a total of $7.77 million in the state lottery’s Big 4 drawing when the winning numbers came up 7-7-7-7. Quadruple-number hits are rare, as evidenced by the fact the lottery will lose about $7.2 million...

Casino Refuses to Pay $43M Jackpot

Slot machine was faulty, Colorado casino insists

(Newser) - A customer at a Colorado casino was offered a free breakfast and $23 in lieu of the $42.9 million jackpot she won at a penny slot machine. Gaming authorities and officials at Fortune Valley Casino say the machine malfunctioned and that its top payout is only $251,000, but...

Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley: Tiger's Mentors?

The former NBA stars were Woods' Vegas companions

(Newser) - You already know more than you ever wanted to about Tiger Woods’ personal life, but guess what? You still haven’t heard it all. Vanity Fair teases its upcoming article by Mark Seal, which “may be the most complete account to date of the golfer’s secret life”:
  • His
...

8 March Madness Guarantees
 8 March Madness Guarantees 
NCAA TOURNAMENT
Mar 17, 2010 11:28 PM CDT

8 March Madness Guarantees

C'mon, you know a woman's going to win your pool

(Newser) - With tipoff just hours away for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Adam Tod Brown looks at eight things guaranteed to happen in the next few weeks:
  • Nobody watches the play-in game. The game was Tuesday, during Lost. Plus, he writes for FunnyCrave, “I didn’t graduate from a
...

Tiger Woods Turns Down Gambling Sponsorship

Irish outfit says it'll enhance its $75M offer

(Newser) - You’d think Tiger Woods would be eager for any sponsorship he can get right now, but apparently he still has standards. The Irish gambling outfit Paddy Power says the scandal-plagued golfer has turned down its $75 million sponsorship offer. But the company says it “remains keen” to sign...

Paterson Bombshell Likely Just Corruption


 Paterson 
 Bombshell 
 Likely Just 
 Corruption 
plus: nyt takes on rumors
Feb 10, 2010 8:53 AM CST

Paterson Bombshell Likely Just Corruption

Plus, 'New York Times' finally addresses rumors...kinda

(Newser) - As the New York Times finally addresses its supposed bombshell David Paterson article, without actually saying much of anything, WPIX thinks it knows the real story—and it has nothing to do with sex. Federal prosecutors are investigating Paterson's possible trading of a gaming contract at Aqueduct Raceway for a...

Fearless Gambler? Could Be Brain Damage

Harm to amygdala seems to impair 'loss aversion'

(Newser) - People with damage to their amygdala, a deep part of the brain that governs basic value judgments, are more likely than others to take big risks for uncertain payoffs. A new study pitted 2 women with amygdala-specific lesions against 6 controls in tests of their willingness to gamble. The control...

Why Gamblers Can't Walk Away
 Why Gamblers Can't Walk Away 
Feb 5, 2010 4:55 PM CST

Why Gamblers Can't Walk Away

A near miss gives that winning feeling, study finds

(Newser) - Scientists have unlocked a key to obsessive gambling—the lure of the near miss. In search of the reason gamblers keep playing even after strings of horrible losses, Cambridge University researchers examined the brains of gamblers. They found that a near miss—putting a bet on a horse that finished...

11 Weird Super Bowl Bets
 11 Weird Super Bowl Bets 
Feb 5, 2010 11:37 AM CST

11 Weird Super Bowl Bets

From Kim Kardashian's booty to Pete Townshend's moves

(Newser) - The Super Bowl is about a lot more than just football, beer, and funny commercials—it also offers a chance to make some of the weirdest prop bets ever. Sam Greenspan lists 11 especially crazy ones—all of which he bet on—on 11 Points :
  • National anthem: How long will
...

Sin City Seethes Over 2nd Obama Diss

Vegas defenders: This time sorry isn't good enough

(Newser) - When President Obama said yesterday that families saving for college shouldn't blow money in Vegas, it was the second time he'd singled out Sin City as an example of excessive spending—and his words came as salt in the wounds of a tourism-dependent city hit hard by the recession. "...

Bookie Forgets Bet, Threatens to Kill Horse

Gambler panicked, tried to keep thoroughbred from race

(Newser) - A UK bookie was convicted yesterday of threatening to kill one of the world’s top racing horses in a desperate attempt to make up for a bet he’d forgotten to place for his high roller clients. Self-professed gambling addict Andrew Rodgerson’s job was to place bets for...

Fidelity Fires Four Workers —Over Fantasy Football

Employees get the boot, argue policy is totally lame

(Newser) - Fidelity Investment has fired four of its employees after discovering they were heading up dangerous gambling rings, also known as fantasy football leagues. In a nightmare scenario for guys everywhere, the commissioners of four office leagues were sacked recently, the Fort-Worth Star Telegram reports, after company officials intercepted some nefarious...

Logger Earns World Series of Poker Final

Darvin Moon will take on 21-year-old Joe Cada

(Newser) - A logger and a community college dropout have outlasted 6,492 other competitors and will go head-to-head in Monday's final of the World Series of Poker. Joe Cada, 21, flirted with elimination in the round that ended today in Las Vegas but holds 136 million chips and a substantial lead...

Chuck Todd Chickens Out on Goatee Bet

Dodger-loving reporter donates to charity rather than shaving

(Newser) - Chuck Todd isn’t shaving off his goatee, despite having lost a baseball bet to Jake Tapper. The NBC talking head has taken the coward’s way out and will donate to charity instead. Todd was supposed to shed his trademark goatee if the Dodgers lost the NLCS; had they...

Vagrants Find 'Home' in Tunnels Under Vegas Casinos

Tunnel dwellers trade danger of drowning for a little comfort

(Newser) - Flood tunnels beneath the casinos of Las Vegas seem an unlikely place to call home. But that’s exactly what they are to an estimated 700, including some who’ve built surprisingly elaborate makeshift dwellings in the 350-plus miles under the city. The Sun describes the “home” of couple...

Expanded Gambling Won't Be a Windfall: Silver

(Newser) - The many states hoping gambling will revive their troubled budgets are in for an unpleasant surprise, writes Nate Silver for Esquire. Gambling is supposed to be recession-proof, but that hasn’t been the case this time. "The year 2008 was the first time in history that total casino gaming...

Penny Slots Bring In Big Bucks
 Penny Slots Bring In Big Bucks 
Aug 31, 2009 11:41 AM CDT

Penny Slots Bring In Big Bucks

(Newser) - Casinos are making big bank off the tiniest—and oft-most derided—denomination, USA Today reports. Gambling outfits have added penny slots at an amazing rate—in the last 2 years, Nevada has removed 12,000 more costly machines to make room for 7,000 penny slots—and the move has...

Tennis Cops Warn Players About US Open Tweeting

Using Twitter during matches could be 'inside information,' violate corruption rules

(Newser) - Tennis authorities are telling participants in the US Open, which begins Monday, to watch their tweeting. Signs are posted in the players' lounge, locker rooms and referee's office at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with the header: "Important. Player Notice. Twitter Warning." The signs, written...

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