sharpjuice

Two For The Money - Not Mine

So you have been waiting weeks to roll out on Friday night for the opening of Two For The Money. You got your date set up and your tickets are bought. If the reviews are any indication, you might want to go see Into The Blue instead. Jessica Alba will certainly soothe your eyes better than Al Pacino.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but check out the reviews at RottenTomatoes.com.  One of the few positive reviews calls Two For The Money "a cross between BOILER ROOM and DEVIL'S ADVOCATE".  Now that sounds like a Oscar nominee waiting to happen.

I'll wait for the DVD.

Football Betting in Mexico

Mexico is gearing up for the Cardinals and 49ers...and the betting associated with it. Betting is legal in Mexico, and American Football betting is a big business.

Does it surprise you that the largest sports parlor is owned by a public official - "The betting parlor business is dominated by Caliente, controlled by Tijuana Mayor Jorge Hank Rohn."

Only in Mexico.

Mets Groundskeeper Caught

Three people in Long Island, including former Mets groundskeeper Dominic Valila, pleaded guilty to running a sports betting ring. Allegedly, the ring was affiliated with organized crime and booked up to 2,000 bets per day grossing $360 million over 2 years via the Internet and telephone.

Lesson learned - if you are starting your own book, make sure to move to the safe confines of the Caribbean.

Online Sports Book Cranks It Up

Online sports gambling company, SportingBet PLC, based in the UK, reported record earnings resulting in a 60.5 million pound operating profit.  The parent of US bookie sportsbook.com (my first sports book account), hit an all-time high on the London Stock Exchange on the news.

I was skeptical that the margins were large enough to make a run at it in the sports book business, but SportingBet has reached a critical mass across multiple markets to make it work.

Oddjack City

Thanks to AJ over Oddjack for throwing out some pub for Sharpjuice.  Oddjack is the new title from the blogging media empire of Gawker.  Run by noted journalist AJ Daulerio, a founder and editor of The Black Table, Oddjack provides an entertaining perspective about all things betting, from poker to horses to celebrity happenings.  As they say at Oddjack, be sure to "tip your dealer" - let AJ know where you see the heat on the web.

Save Social Security

While the politicians bicker about how to solve the Social Security problem, some are actually thinking about creative solutions.  Phil Gallager's suggestion that the sportsbook industry could fund Social Security through a tax is actually quite a brilliant idea.  Americans have proved that regardless of the laws, we still find a way to lay down our wagers - whether it is the old Ernie in front of the news stand, or the online sports book out of the Cayman Islands.  The government should recognize this behavior and actually do some something productive.    Unfortunately, however, my bet is, that as usual, concern about perception will get in the way of doing the right thing.