OT - Gambling Odds

[jleves]

So I clicked a link I have to see what the line was for tomorrows game and at the top of the page was a line for the NFL ProBowl. How seriously addicted to gambling do you have to be to place a bet on the ProBowl game? Do the same people place bets on chick flag football?

And another question. I was suprised to see UConn 8.5 favorites. Was it the same before anyone knew about Boatright or did it change?

Final thought. In college I was in a group of about a dozen guys that played poker. We had games almost every night. We had weekend games that would last 36 hours (with 12, only 7 could play at once, so people would come and go throughout the game - the hardcores would stay the entire time). Anyhow, we would get together for the Super Bowl and make ridiculous bets. Who would win the coin toss. Which company would have the first commercial at then end of the quarter. Which team would get the first penalty. Which team would make the first field goal. And on and on. Pretty funny looking back on it.

 

[champs99and04]

Gambling serves two purposes, IMO. The first one is obviously to make money. The second one is too add fun to an event that normally wouldn't be fun...or to add fun to an already fun event. I'm guessing if you were to bet on the pro bowl, it would be because you're so extremely bored that you need something interesting to watch. Obviously if you have money riding on the game, it becomes more interesting. In a way, gambling is just a way of buying entertainment.

But really, give me one reason you wouldn't bet on the AFC at +4 tomorrow? The pro bowl is a complete crap shoot. You never know which guys are going to give a and play hard, so by pure logic, it makes sense to bet on the AFC. It would be like flipping a coin and saying, "Heads +150, tails -170, would you like to place a wager?" I'll gladly place a large sum of money on heads.

I'm not surprised to see UConn favored by 6.5. Vegas seems to give UConn a lot of respect, even though they haven't necessarily earned it this season. The fact that they pretty much clobbered Notre Dame the last time they played probably adds a couple points to the line...that and the fact that UConn is much more talented.