S12E05: Sports Betting

[Lantern7]

Timely topic with “March Madness” on the horizon. With the men’s and women’s tournaments running together, we will have as many as 32 games taking place in the coming days. John makes some valid points. Anything can be watered. ANYTHING. For instance: how much would you have put up if you could bet on whether Trump would pop up in the main topic? Well, he didn’t this week. I would’ve lost that bet . . . provided I had bet, of course. And yes, gambling gets dicier when you don’t even have to leave home to do it . . . or if you can work around age restrictions.

Also, the Trump Administration continues to administration. Poorly. Did John mention that Columbia was taking back diplomas and expelling students for last year’s demonstrations?

John continues to fetishize animals. “What them horns do?” Brrrrrrrrrr. Fun stuff about not wishing cancer on dogs and (most) cats.

Edited March 17 by Lantern7

[Annber03]

Wow, that Edgar guy should go on "Dancing with the Stars" with as often as he moved around answering Martin's question about the student's supposed ties to Hamas. What a slick slimeball. John's absolutely right that no matter one's stance on these particular issues, the government should not be weaponizing people's right to free speech and protest like this, and that that should be the one thing any sane person should agree on.

As for the main story...yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah, that's really unnerving that these companies can track your activity to the point when they know you'll be most likely to do some kind of impulse spending and perhaps not being so cautious with your money. It's not too surprising such methods exist in this world where algorithms can track our every move online and target things relevant to our interests or stuff we've looked at or whatever, but that's a specific level of creepy intrusion and tracking. 

And then to keep harassing people with offers to keep up the gambling besides. I loved the comparisons to bars and cigarette companies being held accountable for their actions in regards to fueling people's addictions, it's a valid point and I fully agree the solutions to address those problems should be implemented here as well. 

[kittykat]

Glad John touched on the subject of Mahmoud Khalil.  Typical pattern of these people to assume Palestinian = Hamas. Yes arrest the innocent protester but give Mel Gibson his fucking guns back.  Screw you Mike Johnson. They really are towing the line on stripping first amendment rights here.

I've never been big on gambling even though I've been to Vegas multiple times but surprise oh surprise we've now streamlined gambling so that people can do it anytime on their phones.  THAT can't possibly go wrong.  Oh wait that's exactly what they want. That said I would totally do Restaurant Gambling.

Feel bad for the student athletes being harassed by their fellow students because of their dumb bets.  Not surprising the most addicted provide most of the revenue.  Pretty sure South Park did an episode on that years ago. And the predatory actions these people take to win back recovering gamblers is just plain abominable and prey on the most vulnerable.  

I got to ask the question now John thinks we will ask later: what are we doing?

Ha, Jean-Ralphio!

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm glad they showed the speaker saying 'student visa'. They all thought the guy was on a student visa. No due diligence here, like literally everything else. Yes, this is a speech issue, but that's not even debatable even for people who want the guy gone. What needs to be hammered is the lack of due process. Stop patting yourself on the back for defending free speech, and get to the root cause of what's going on.

I like how the NFL is fine taking the Department of Defense propaganda money, but oh, no, you couldn't bet on a game. Now, they're making sure they get their taste.

I don't really have a problem with legalizing gambling, or weed, for that matter, simply from the tax revenue standpoint. I don't do either. I used to play blackjack, and did actually well, but that's when I didn't have any money. I have money now, but not enough to gamble. I do look at odds when I'm watching games; mainly, I watch NBA a couple of times a week and the playoffs. 

I do agree that anything can get out of hand. Betting on games is one thing; but the parlays and all that is a total grift. However, you don't actually have to. I understand there's enabling going on, but you are an adult too. 

I teach how to count cards and gambling when I do the statistics and probabilities. 

When the Colts were playing the Seahawks, I was at a party, as one does. One guy, before the first snap said that the odds on a safety *on the first snap* were just astronomical. AND THEN IT HAPPENED. The snap went over Manning's head into the end zone for a safety! We were going bonkers. 

11 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Did John mention that Columbia was taking back diplomas and expelling students for last year’s demonstrations?

'Taking back diplomas' is performative because the transcript is the actual, legal document. You can take it back all you want, but when an organization asks me to prove I have a Ph.D. (because no one really believes it), they request I send the transcript. So Columbia can take the diploma away; nevertheless, I earned the degree, and any companies interviewing those people or offering them jobs still would request transcripts. Now, it may be that a company might not want to hire those people, but that's something that should shake out in an interview. Not having the diploma isn't relevant. 

11 hours ago, Annber03 said:

As for the main story...yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah, that's really unnerving that these companies can track your activity to the point when they know you'll be most likely to do some kind of impulse spending and perhaps not being so cautious with your money. It's not too surprising such methods exist in this world where algorithms can track our every move online and target things relevant to our interests or stuff we've looked at or whatever, but that's a specific level of creepy intrusion and tracking.

I think that ship sailed though. The betting apps are just another way to collect and sell personal data. 

 

 

 

[peeayebee]

14 hours ago, kittykat said:

Feel bad for the student athletes being harassed by their fellow students because of their dumb bets.

Yeah, that was awful. I don't think there's anything wrong with losing a bet and saying to your friends, "Man, Jojo made me lose $500 when he dropped the ball," but how stupid and pointless is it to send angry messages to the athlete because things didn't go your way. 

When I was in Vegas a month ago, I went to a machine to break a $100 bill. Oops. It was an MGM Betting machine. Well, I had no interest in betting on a game or player or whatever else there was. I didn't see any way to get my money back, so I printed the voucher, went to the cashier's window, and said, "Duh, I used the wrong machine. Can I get my money back?" Yes. Whew.

 

[EtheltoTillie]

The fake commercial with Bobby Moynihan was pretty funny. Does anyone know who the other actors were?  

[andromeda331]

I come from a family of gamblers. My mom was only one who ever sports betting and that was just in the sports pool at work every football season. Give us slot machines and poker tables any day.  

I love John listing the different sports that people bet on (including marbles!). Yeah people will bet on anything. I have questions about the men slapping each other with fish. 

I loved the clip at the end. That was hilarious.

[peeayebee]

9 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

The fake commercial with Bobby Moynihan was pretty funny. Does anyone know who the other actors were?  

The main one was Ben Schwartz. The wife of Moynihan was Casey Williams. I think the other guy was Adam Pally.

7 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I love John listing the different sports that people bet on (including marbles!). Yeah people will bet on anything. I have questions about the men slapping each other with fish. 

I wondered if that clip was real. Seems like I've heard of this 'sport' or whatever. Maybe I'm thinking of a Monty Python sketch.

And yes, people bet on anything. Death pools, for one thing.

[EtheltoTillie]

Thanks.  I thought I recognized Ben Schwartz but I only know him as “goofy guy from Parks and Rec.”

Edited March 18 by EtheltoTillie

[iMonrey]

Fan Duel is the one I hear a lot of ads for on my podcasts. It used to have a hilariously long disclaimer at the end of it that was almost as long as the ad itself. I've noticed it's been shortened more recently though, for whatever reason. Probably because the rules are becoming more lax under you-know-who.

[DoctorAtomic]

4 hours ago, peeayebee said:

The wife of Moynihan was Casey Williams.

Casey Wilson. 

4 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Thanks.  I thought I recognized Ben Schwartz but I only know him as “goofy guy from Parks and Rec.”

You should check him out in House of Lies. A criminally underrated run of shows with Black Monday featuring Don Cheadle. The latter also featuring Casey. 

[EtheltoTillie]

13 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Casey Wilson. 

You should check him out in House of Lies. A criminally underrated run of shows with Black Monday featuring Don Cheadle. The latter also featuring Casey. 

I actually watched a couple of seasons of House of Lies.  I gave up after a while as I also did with some of the Showtime shows like Shameless and Billions. 

Edited March 18 by EtheltoTillie

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Casey Wilson. 

Doh! I guess I can't blame autocorrect. 

[ebk57]

On 3/18/2025 at 8:06 AM, peeayebee said:

Death pools, for one thing.

I'm in a Death Pool, but there's no money involved.  Just fun and games...