Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Slots: Just next chapter in region's gambling legacyLeader Times, PA - 2 hours ago"This is going to be the highest-producing casino in all the commonwealth," said Rivers, of Churchill. "(Gambling) is indigenous to this population. .Slots: Just next chapter in region's gambling legacy - Leader Times

Glendale's not the only town getting behind Jordin Sparks to win American Idol. Looks like Vegas is, too. John Avello, the director of race and sports operations for Wynn Las Vegas, puts Sparks as a 1-3 favorite, meaning that if you were betting (you can't, at least not legally in Las Vegas), for every $1 you bet, you would win only 30 cents. “That's a strong favorite,” Avello said. You could make more money on Blake Lewis (if he wins): Avello set the odds on his becoming the next Idol at 5-2, meaning if you put $1 on him, you'd win $2.50. Other sites offer similar odds. Bookmaker.com has Sparks as a prohibitive favorite, as does dialidol.com . “She's got a real upside to her,” Avello, who has set odds for all of the American Idol seasons, said. “She's only 17. . . . She's a good-looking girl. She's got nowhere but up to go.” Sparks was the favorite going into last night's performance, Avello said, and came out of it an even heavier one. “She was good last night on at least two of the songs, and she showed her talents,” he said, adding, “I believe Blake got hurt” when they both sang This Is My Now, the winner of Idol's songwriting competition. (The general consensus is that the song was terrible, but that Sparks sang circles around Lewis while singing it.) As always, all gambling information is for entertainment purposes only. And it's not like you're going to get rich off of betting on Sparks, anyway. SPOILER ALERT (SORT OF): If you can’t wait till 9 p.m. to find out who wins, log onto azcentral.com just after 7 p.m. — but don’t worry, we won’t give it away that easily. You’ll have to click on a link to find out who wins. Smart money's on the left. Betting on Jordin

CONCORD, N.C. - Kyle Petty looked at the placard on the podium and joked his name had been spelled wrong. It had been 10 years since Petty was last invited to a post-race news conference, and the drivers surrounding him weren't exactly regular attendeesGambling on gas pays off for 600's top five