Monday, April 7, 2014

Gambling and 2016



Gambling and 2016

I don't gamble and I don't understand jack about professional football. I don't play slots or lotteries, but I do understand simple math and odds.

If I go to a Super Bowl party, it's more for the beer and food. I've got enough trouble figuring out who's got the ball much less what they're doing with it. If you don't wanna blow beer out your nose, swallow before you read the following:

I was in Green Bay on business and called my wife from the hotel. She asked where I was and I said I wasn't sure, but that I could see a stadium from my room. Uh-huh. You got it.

In 2011, in spite of the Nevada casinos posting losses, they took in almost $11 billion. The Vegas strip accounted for about $6 billion. Almost 49 million people went to Vegas last year; most of them with dreams of hitting it big.

Now, you'll have to admit, the odds or point spreads on sports games aren't usually that large, so we're talking about a LOT of people laying down a LOT of money on games that could easily go either way.

Football fans laid down a total of  $1.34 billion which was not even half of the total $3.2 billion bet on sports.

On the Super Bowl alone, fans bet a record $98.9 million. 

And face it, people will bet on damn near anything. Fantasy football bets amounted to $1.8 billion last year.

Fast fwd. to 2016 where in some parallel universe, some Republicans - politicians and voters alike - fantasize that they're going to pull off some kind of Hail Mary.

Are you fucking kidding me?

The GOP has effectively pissed-off the three fastest growing demographics - Latinos, women and young people. Even after Gov. Brewer vetoed that religious discrimination bill in AZ, conservatives continue to beat the drum against gays and anyone who doesn't describe themselves as "born again."  They refuse to distance themselves from billionaires like Sheldon Adelson or the Kochs. Guys like Scott Walker pass voting restrictions. Guys like Boehner and Ryan talk shit about blacks, the unemployed and about millions of Americans who have signed up for insurance coverage. What kind of crack are these guys smoking?

If the GOP were an actual corporation, there'd be more layoffs than Google or Ford.

So, just for entertainment purposes, the current Vegas odds for the 2016 election are:

Clinton 6/4
Christie 10/1
Rubio 10/1
Bush 14/1
Ryan 16/1
Paul 16/1
Santorum 50/1

Electoral estimates vary from site to site, but one I saw projected Blue 257, Red 191.

Kinda makes you wish you could get some of those red bozos in a game of Texas holdem…

Can you say rube?  How about faites vos jeux?

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