Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: betting

betting stories: 16 news summaries

Chuck Todd Chickens Out
on Goatee Bet 

Dodger-loving reporter donates to charity rather than shaving

Oct 23, 09 1:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - Chuck Todd isn’t shaving off his goatee, despite having lost a baseball bet to Jake Tapper. The NBC talking head has taken the coward’s way out and will donate to charity instead. Todd was supposed to shed his trademark goatee if the Dodgers lost the NLCS; had they... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gambling • betting • feud • NBC News • sports betting • NLCS • baseball • ABC News • Robert Gibbs • beard • facial hair • Chuck Todd • Jake Tapper

maureen dowd

Maybe Sports Betting
Can Save Newspapers

Desperate times require desperate solutions, some say

Oct 21, 09 12:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - With newspapers sinking deeper into trouble by the day, Maureen Dowd explores the idea of saving the day with a little vice. Specifically, allowing papers to rake in money by setting up online sports betting on their websites. Dowd herself isn't pushing it, but she has fun kicking it around... More »

MORE ABOUT:
betting • Maureen Dowd • sports betting • online betting • newspaper industry

 Blocked From 
 White House, 
 Shaq Loses Bet 

Guessed he could get in just by turning up

Jul 28, 09 6:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Shaquille O’Neal bet a friend he’d be let in the White House if he simply showed up—and he lost the wager, the Washington Post reports. “The rule was I couldn't use any of my political connections," Shaq said. "Couldn't show a badge. I couldn't... More »

MORE ABOUT:
White House • betting • Shaquille O'Neal • Shaq • Twitter

OPINION

Palin 2012
Odds See a Sharp Rebound

Betting suggests gamblers believe Palin can go the distance

Jul 7, 09 5:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Gamblers were rushing to place online bets as soon as they got wind of Sarah Palin's resignation, Keith Thomson writes at the Huffington Post. The odds of her winning the nomination in 2012 shot up sharply the day of the resignation. They then shortened amid a surge in betting as... More »

MORE ABOUT:
betting • resignation • Republican nomination • governor • gamblers • odds • Sarah Palin • Election 2012

Terminally Ill Man Picks a Winner: Himself

At 50-1 odds, British cancer patient has won $16K betting he'll live

Jun 1, 09 3:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - A terminally ill British man collected about $8,200 today after betting he’d stay alive, the BBC reports. After being diagnosed with asbestos-related cancer in 2006 and told he had just months left, 59-year-old Jon Matthews made £100 bets he’d stick around until June 1, 2008, and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cancer • gambling • betting • asbestos • Britain • Jon Matthews

kentucky derby

 You, Too, Can 
 Pick a Winner 

All you need is a buck and 3 key stats

May 1, 09 2:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Put down that mint julep: The Kentucky Derby is tomorrow, and you still don’t have a horse to bet on. But you do have a prayer, because Christina Settimi of Forbes, with help from horse racing expert Dean Keppler, outlines a winning strategy. With $118 million wagered, novices have... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Kentucky Derby • horse racing • Churchill Downs • betting • sports betting • Dean Keppler • wagering

super bowl

 Super Bowl 
 Inspires 
 Super Wacky 
 Wagers 

How much do you want to bet Bruce sings Born to Run?

Feb 1, 09 9:38 AM CST
(Newser) - Propositions, or "prop bets," can add some spice to a Super Bowl blowout even as they leave oddsmakers shaking their heads. "They're a pain in the ass," a Las Vegas bookmaker tells ESPN the Magazine. "But it keeps non-fans interested for the entire game.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NFL • Arizona Cardinals • gambling • Las Vegas • Super Bowl • football • betting • Pittsburgh Steelers • Bruce Springsteen • sports betting • Internet gambling • online betting • Super Bowl XLIII

Don't Want to Bet on the Super Bowl? Bet on Jennifer

Internet offers wagering on how long it'll take her to sing anthem, and other odd stuff

Jan 29, 09 12:13 PM CST
(Newser) - Want to gamble on the Super Bowl, but know nothing about football? No problem: You can place your bets for how long it will take Jennifer Hudson to sing the national anthem Sunday instead, TMZ reports. Sites like BetUS.com have all sorts of options that have little to do... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Arizona Cardinals • gambling • Super Bowl • football • betting • Pittsburgh Steelers • Jennifer Hudson • sports betting • Internet gambling • online betting • John Madden • Super Bowl XLIII

glossies

China Test-Runs 'Immoral' Horse Betting 

Horse racing returns to mainland for first time since Communist victory

Jan 3, 09 11:02 AM CST
(Newser) - China is taking slow and cautious steps towards unlocking its huge betting market, the Economist reports. Gamblers at a Wuhan racecourse recently became the first people allowed to try their luck on the horses since the Communists outlawed gambling in 1949—although a winning pick only rewarded customers 20 lottery... More »

MORE ABOUT:
China • gambling • horse racing • betting • Chinese economy • gamblers • Chinese Communist party

(Newser) - The odds are getting better that Nietzsche was not only crazy, but wrong, the Telegraph reports. An Irish bookmaker has lowered the odds on finding proof of God's existence to 4-1, after atheist ads on London buses sparked a flurry of pro-God betting. The bookie, Paddy Power, began taking the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
God • betting • atheism • Large Hadron Collider • Bill Maher Grid

Davydenko Didn't Fix Matches, ATP Probe Finds

Tennis body finds no evidence Russian threw '07 contest for gambling profit

Sep 12, 08 2:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Nikolay Davydenko had nothing to do with any match-fixing, tennis authorities announced today after a lengthy investigation. Davydenko, 27, had been under suspicion after abnormally high betting on a 2007 match from which he withdrew citing injury, the BBC reports. Almost $7 million was placed on Davydenko’s opponent on... More »

MORE ABOUT:
tennis • corruption • betting • Nicolay Davydenko • sports betting • online betting • men's tennis • Martin Vassallo Arguello

Libertarian Bets $1M His GPA Tops Obama's

VP candidate says skin color helped senator get into Harvard

Sep 5, 08 8:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - One of Barack Obama’s election opponents is putting his millions where his grades are. Wayne Allyn Root, the Las Vegas handicapper running for vice president on the Libertarian ticket with Bob Barr, has bet $1 million that he had a better GPA at Columbia University than classmate Obama. Root... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Columbia University • betting • Libertarian Party • Harvard Law School • Bob Barr • Wayne Allyn Root

ATP Fines Davydenko for Lack of Effort

Tennis star draws rebuke from umpire after six double-faults

Oct 26, 07 2:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Association of Tennis Professionals fined star player Nikolay Davydenko $2000 for lack of "best effort" in a St. Petersburg Open match against Marian Cilic. Already at the center of a betting investigation since August, Davydenko won the first set in 27 minutes, but lost the next two, the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
tennis • betting • Nikolay Davydenko

Donaghy Pleads Guilty in NBA Betting Scandal

Former referee says he was paid for picking winners correctly

Aug 15, 07 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy admitted to betting on games he officiated and pleaded guilty today to two gambling-related felony counts. Donaghy, who turned himself in, told a Brooklyn judge he divulged game information and his picks on NBA games to gambling associates; he was paid for correctly choosing winning... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NBA • basketball • organized crime • gambling • NBA referees • betting • felony • David Stern • Tim Donaghy

FBI Names Rogue NBA Ref

Veteran Tim Donaghy accused of mob ties, illegal bets totaling thousands of dollars

Jul 21, 07 2:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - The FBI has officially blown the whistle on an NBA referee accused on illegal gambling. The feds are investigating claims that over the past two years veteran Tim Donaghy officiated a number of games on which he or his associates had placed bets—which might have totaled thousands of dollars.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
sports • NBA • FBI • Kobe Bryant • basketball • LeBron James • Mark Cuban • gambling • gambling addiction • NBA referees • betting • David Stern • Tim Donaghy

Media Gurus Take Stock of New Website

MediaPredict.com brings a market mentality to picking the next hit

May 31, 07 4:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - An enterprising start-up thinks it knows how to pick the next Da Vinci Code or "Friends," the Economist reports: virtual stockmarkets. MediaPredict.com lets volunteers use play money to bet on the success of a book manuscript, TV pilot, or opening-day take, and hopes the wisdom of crowds... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • media • stock market • prediction markets • MediaPredict.com • betting • virtual

16 Stories


from our news partners