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Auggie

(31,067 posts)
Wed Sep 26, 2012, 10:27 AM Sep 2012

Close to $250 million worldwide could have been bet on the Seahawks/Packers game

Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle:

What was at stake in the gambling community during "Monday Night Football"? Only about $150 million in total bets worldwide, according to a top executive at the Wynn in Las Vegas. That's how much money shifted when Russell Wilson's pass to Golden Tate was ruled a touchdown for Seattle. If the proper call had been made - either an interception or pass interference on Tate - Green Bay would have had a five-point win that covered the spread.

And that $150 million, incidentally, seems to be a conservative estimate. Mike Perry, a spokesman for the betting site Sportsbook.ag, told ESPN that the money swing on that call was closer to $250 million. So let's not dismiss the organized-crime angle out of hand. Who could be more vulnerable to gambling interests than a low-paid, virtually unknown referee who soon will disappear altogether from the NFL scene?

SNIP

Please, somebody awaken these clowns from what amounts to a drunken stupor. The NFL is a $9 billion industry, quite capable of instantly erasing all concerns about salaries, pensions and the number of full-time officials working each game. Get the damn thing done, for crying out loud. And remember this, as noted Tuesday by ESPN.com's Andrew Brandt: "Thousands of negligence lawsuits are now circling the NFL regarding concussions. It will be interesting to see if head injuries suffered during these games generate a new wave of allegations against the league."


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/giants/jenkins/article/Gamblers-lawsuits-and-tainted-victories-3894175.php#ixzz27aNMUSLj
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