By Samantha Williams
Whenever I give thought to online betting the first thing that springs to my mind is proposition betting – always, I love this subject. In the UK proposition bets are cool and any bookmaker will take them, but US bookies are rather less likely to accept these bets, because the gambling commissions are so strict about proposition bets. Super Bowl online betting is big news, and residents enjoy taking proposition bets such as the outcome of the coin toss, what Bruce Springsteen songs will be played, etcetera.
Sonny Reizner is most often credited for starting this gambling craze which started during the 1930’s, and he got started right next to the “no gambling” signs under the bleachers of Fenway Park. He is the wild child, who in the 1980’s put up the wager for the ultimate question of the day, “who shot JR?” He did not get away with this – regardless of the fact that he attempted to make like this was a sports bet; by intimating the culprit could have been Tom Landry, the Dallas Cowboys coach; the Nevada Gaming Control Board, made him pay all the bets back.
After this US Gambling control boards got really strict about taking anything resembling proposition bets. You can however do proposition online betting with Bodog for example which takes US wagers. So, for US players’ online betting is always “bettor” when it is placed offshore.
In the UK propositions bets are quite normal and bookies such as William Hill take online betting for virtually anything anyone wants to dream up. This happens in much the same way as in 1960; David Threlfall walked into a High Street William Hill and placed £10 Sterling at 1000: 1, that “man would set foot on the moon before 1 January 1970”. Nine years later in July 1969 – Neil Armstrong walked on the moon! Threlfall moon-walked out of William Hill, £10 000 richer! He didn’t get to enjoy this money much however – after using it to purchase a sports car, he promptly crashed it and killed himself. Today all Threlfall would have had to do, was login to his favorite online betting site, which would probably still have been William Hill.
Poker players are mad about placing proposition bets amongst one-another, and at this years’ (2010) WSOP Main Event, there was more money riding on whether Tom “durrr” Dwan would “not” win a bracelet, than there was being played in the chips on the felt. It has been estimated that the money, on him not winning, or winning, whichever way the bet swung, was between $9 and $12 million. This is by no means chump change!
I could go on forever about proposition bets, and in fact I think this is great book material – but for now I will love you and leave you with this thought from Kin Hubbard ~
“The safest way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket”.
But it sure ‘aint half as much fun!
