Tag Archives: gambling

As the World Cup prepares to start in Rio De Janeiro, an Australian betting site is floating a massive hot air balloon in the shape of the iconic Christ The Redeemer statue in the skies of Melbourne. Local Christian groups are outraged: “This is extraordinary, if they knew anything about Jesus they’d know he’d be overturning tables in the gaming …

JMG reader Gerard tips us that a horse named Liberty Counsel won today’s Irish Grand National.  At a racetrack named Fairyhouse.  The odds were 50/1, better than the US Liberty Counsel’s chances of thwarting LGBT equality.

Florida GOP Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll resigned today immediately after police questioned her regarding her involvement with a non-profit group that is being investigated in a federal racketeering probe. Carroll took office in 2010 as Tea Party hero Rick Scott’s running mate.  The group in question, Allied Veterans, runs dozens of internet cafes that apparently permit internet gambling. Officials from …

Above are the current odds on Intrade. Tim Dolan is way down the list at 2.1%.

Former San Diego Mayor Maureen O’Connor has struck a deal to repay $2 million to a non-profit ceated by her late husband. O’Connor allegedly took the money to feed a billion dollar gambling habit. O’Connor, 66, appeared in federal court and pleaded not guilty to a charge of misappropriating the funds as part of a deferred prosecution. Under the arrangement, …

The Irish online gambling site Paddy Power is taking bets on the next pope and has set odds on the cardinals they consider to be the top contenders.  Bettors on the site, for the moment, are favoring a Canadian. Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet is 5/2 market leader to be elected as the next Pope. He is Prefect of the congregation …

Out pro poker player Vanessa Selbst, who is engaged to be married, just won over $1.4M at the PokerStars High Rollers Tournament, beating an all-male field of players. The talk before the High Roller final was of the record Vanessa Selbst looked certain to break. Selbst, 28, would become the highest-earning woman in poker if she finished fifth or better, …

The popular online gambling site Intrade has told Americans to close their accounts after U.S. regulators charged it with “facilitating bets on future economic data, the price of gold and even acts of war.” Hours after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a complaint in federal court, Intrade posted in its user forum and on its news page that it …

The Irish bookmaker Paddy Power, who has a reputation for controversy, today published a half-page newspaper ad announcing that gamblers who bet on Barack Obama would get their winnings today.  The above message in the Irish Times is raising a lot of eyebrows, but is certainly less scandalous than when Paddy Power offered odds on whether Obama would be assassinated …

Two days ago polling prognosticator Nate Silver offered to make a $1000 election bet with MSNBC host Joe Scarborough.  Silver’s overlords at the New York Times are taking a dim view. From their Public Editor Journal: Whatever the motivation behind it, the wager offer is a bad idea – giving ammunition to the critics who want to paint Mr. Silver …

Embiggen the above chart to see the betting trend on the Intrade gambling site.

Your dream of changing your name and vanishing into the ether with your winnings won’t happen in California, where lottery officials have published surveillance video of a big winner checking his ticket. “We see this as an integrity and transparency issue,” said Russ Lopez, California Lottery Deputy Director of Corporate Communications, in a statement. “The California Lottery truly believes that …

The president has a wide lead among internet gamblers.

Paul Ryan’s first meeting with billionaire Romney backer Sheldon Adelson will be held away from prying eyes of nosy reporters. Days after assuring reporters that Ryan would follow the same rules as Romney when determining which fundraisers would be open to reporters, the campaign has apparently changed their tune. As of Tuesday morning, reporters would not be permitted to cover …

The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force has sent a mailer to Maryland voters telling them to oppose placing a vote on casinos on the ballot because anti-gambling forces will turn out at the polls and those voters also oppose marriage equality. Chris Geidner at Buzzfeed: “If the gaming bill is on the ballot, opponents are likely to spend millions …

Confounding its many critics, New York City’s lone gambling palace, the Aqueduct “racino” in Queens, is blowing away national records. The Aqueduct opened last fall after being championed by Gov. Cuomo, who has vowed to bring full-on casinos to town. The Resorts World racino at Aqueduct is now tops in the nation in slot machine revenue, generating $57.5 million during …

“This scoreboard shows the up-to-the-minute probability of victory for each candidate fighting for the Republican Presidential nomination, and in the upcoming Republican primaries and caucuses.”

What’s the over/under on Santorum and Gingrich showing up at tonight’s debate with huge ash smudges on their oh-so-pious faces?

Bettors on the internet gambling site Intrade are currently giving DADT a 57% chance of being repealed by the end of the year. (Tipped by JMG reader Matthew)