Copied from across the street good thread interesting
This small Central American country, sandwiched between Panama and Nicaragua, offers a tropical climate with an affordable cost of living and little danger for the alert visitor.
Petty theft is the predominant threat for expats and tourists alike.
Costa Rica's relaxed attitude is the country's most desirable quality, highlighted by the land's unofficial slogan, "Pura Vida," pronounced poo-rah vee-dah.
Costa Ricans use the term pura vida to say hello or goodbye and seemingly everything in between, but the pithy phrase mostly serves to brush off any negative feelings interfering with "living the good life."
Stressed-out Americans can add years to their life and joy to their heart by learning a lesson in tranquility (tranquilidad) from their friends in Costa Rica.
Many Americans with ties to the international sports betting arena have called Costa Rica home over the past quarter-century.
Since 1999, Costa Rica has endorsed and supported online sports betting with liberal laws, few regulations, low taxes and otherwise favorable conditions for sports betting operators.
Now to the more important business of cashing wagers...
My 30-year run in Las Vegas taught me that quick stimulating questions provide the most revealing answers, especially when interviewing winners in the sports betting world.
My favorite request of fellow sports bettors is: Tell me something I don't already know.
When I first posed the question to the late Alan Denkenson, better known as "Dink," he responded without hesitation, "Westgate Las Vegas offers some of the best opportunities to bet hockey for two reasons: One is the tight straddles in pricing and the other is the house's NHL opinion sometimes shows up in those prices."
Professional sports bettor SKINNY, currently living in western Pennsylvania, shared one of his favorite strategies nearly 20 years ago, "I position myself at a Station Casinos sports book while monitoring the last-minute point spread moves at CRIS or Pinnacle."
SKINNY was wisely taking advantage of this situation -- sharp book versus square book -- years before anyone mentioned the "Pinny lean."
He would "steal" -- or better yet "secure" -- an extra point or point-and-a-half with the wiseguy side on seemingly every wager he placed at a Station Casinos location.
SKINNY's edge at Station Casinos eventually came to an end when management there barred him from the premises.
Southern California-based handicapper Matt Hatfield, a.k.a. RAILBIRD here at Eye On Gaming, discussed his mental approach to sports betting when asked for his top secret.
Birdie whispered, "Stay positive when thinking about your bankroll, your money management plan and your gambling psyche, in general. Turn negative when assessing the coaches and players: Look to bet against coaches ill-prepared for the moment or highly-publicized players who are either overrated or overmatched."
DINK, SKINNY and RAILBIRD were three of my favorite sports bettors when I lived in Las Vegas and now I'll try to channel this trio to provide three pieces of information unbeknownst to most sports bettors.
Here we go...
Twice in as many weeks and three of the last four, the Georgia Bulldogs have been installed as an impossible favorite.
What's an impossible favorite?
A favored team that fails to score the number of points it was laying.
The highly-rated Bulldogs managed to score only 26 points (four field goals and a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns) when laying 31 points last Saturday against Missouri in a narrow four-point win against a scrappy underdog in Columbia.
Never in the history of sports betting has a 31-point favorite covered the spread when scoring only 26 points.
Georgia's other "underwhelming" games came against Group of Five competitor Kent State and FCS representative Samford.
The Bulldogs were a 45-point favorite against Kent State in a 39-22 victory on September 24 and a 53-point choice over Samford in a workmanlike 33-0 win on the second Saturday in September.
One last note on Georgia football: The team's first five games this season have produced five unders against the closing numbers at Caesars.
The 2022 World Series will be decided in November.
Game 4 of this year's World Series is scheduled for Tuesday, November 1.
Longtime gamblers understand baseball is a warm weather sport.
There's better than a 50/50 chance a World Series game this season will take place in St. Louis, Cleveland or New York.
Smart handicappers search for opportunities in early April or late October (read: early November) when games are played in frigid temperatures, limiting the flight of the ball and thus depressing scoring chances via the long ball.
Obviously, a baseball travels differently during a 40-degree game in April and a 90-degree game in July.
It is estimated a ball will travel 12-15 feet farther on a gorgeous summer day compared to a fall night better suited for football than baseball when players are covered in multiple layers to stay warm and ski masks are part of the on-field uniform.
What's more, Major League Baseball teams no longer are built to create scoring opportunities with "small ball."
"Get 'em on, get 'em over and get 'em in" is ancient history.
There was a time not long ago when a runner on second base was said to be in scoring position.
In today's game, with the preponderance of massive uppercut swings, every player who steps into the batter's box is in scoring position, especially now with the universal designated-hitter rule in place.
MLB postseason play, to the delight of baseball traditionalists, brings about the elimination of the automatic runner on second base in extra innings.
The rule, known for many years in women's college softball as the International Tie Breaker (ITB), was implemented in MLB during the 2020 pandemic season in hopes of avoiding lengthy extra-inning games.
Like many COVID-19 protocols in sports and other walks of life, the "automatic runner" rule stayed in place long after the viral danger passed.
The queer rule avoids marathon games, for the most part, but exposes baseball's all-in approach to power hitting.
When a sharp single up the middle would score the game-tying run or game-winning run in the top or bottom of the tenth inning, today's players are still swinging for the fences, situational baseball be damned.
Under bettors detest the "automatic runner" rule because it increases scoring chances in extra innings, putting their wager in jeopardy with the spectre of both teams scoring a run in the tenth inning and beyond.
More than half of all money wagered on sporting events worldwide involves the sport of soccer.
That's according to information analysts at Sportradar, a multinational corportation headquartered in Switzerland that specializes in the collection and interpretation of sports betting data.
And within the game of soccer, there's no bigger tournament than the FIFA World Cup.
FIFA roughly translates to the International Federation of Association Football and it counts 211 national soccer associations as members.
FIFA has three primary goals: 1) To grow the sport internationally, 2) To make the sport accessible to everyone and 3) To advocate for integrity and fair play.
One way to meet all three goals is to present the World Cup every four years.
A tournament that dates to 1930, the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup will kickoff in the State of Qatar, a rich country of 2.6 million people in western Asia.
Host Qatar will open the proceedings with a game against Ecuador on November 20.
The championship match of the prestigious tournament is set for December 18.
How much money was bet on the most recent World Cup held four years ago in Russia?
FIFA concluded $140 billion dollars was wagered across 64 games with the championship match generating more than $75 billion in action, or ten times the amount of estimated handle on the most recent Super Bowl between the Rams and Bengals.
Football, of course, is still king in the United States.
On the world stage, however, American football plays a subservient role to futbol.
- Greetings from beautiful Costa Rica where the water is warm, the women are hot and my sports betting selections unfortunately remain in the defrosting process.
This small Central American country, sandwiched between Panama and Nicaragua, offers a tropical climate with an affordable cost of living and little danger for the alert visitor.
Petty theft is the predominant threat for expats and tourists alike.
Costa Rica's relaxed attitude is the country's most desirable quality, highlighted by the land's unofficial slogan, "Pura Vida," pronounced poo-rah vee-dah.
Costa Ricans use the term pura vida to say hello or goodbye and seemingly everything in between, but the pithy phrase mostly serves to brush off any negative feelings interfering with "living the good life."
Stressed-out Americans can add years to their life and joy to their heart by learning a lesson in tranquility (tranquilidad) from their friends in Costa Rica.
Many Americans with ties to the international sports betting arena have called Costa Rica home over the past quarter-century.
Since 1999, Costa Rica has endorsed and supported online sports betting with liberal laws, few regulations, low taxes and otherwise favorable conditions for sports betting operators.
Now to the more important business of cashing wagers...
My 30-year run in Las Vegas taught me that quick stimulating questions provide the most revealing answers, especially when interviewing winners in the sports betting world.
My favorite request of fellow sports bettors is: Tell me something I don't already know.
When I first posed the question to the late Alan Denkenson, better known as "Dink," he responded without hesitation, "Westgate Las Vegas offers some of the best opportunities to bet hockey for two reasons: One is the tight straddles in pricing and the other is the house's NHL opinion sometimes shows up in those prices."
Professional sports bettor SKINNY, currently living in western Pennsylvania, shared one of his favorite strategies nearly 20 years ago, "I position myself at a Station Casinos sports book while monitoring the last-minute point spread moves at CRIS or Pinnacle."
SKINNY was wisely taking advantage of this situation -- sharp book versus square book -- years before anyone mentioned the "Pinny lean."
He would "steal" -- or better yet "secure" -- an extra point or point-and-a-half with the wiseguy side on seemingly every wager he placed at a Station Casinos location.
SKINNY's edge at Station Casinos eventually came to an end when management there barred him from the premises.
Southern California-based handicapper Matt Hatfield, a.k.a. RAILBIRD here at Eye On Gaming, discussed his mental approach to sports betting when asked for his top secret.
Birdie whispered, "Stay positive when thinking about your bankroll, your money management plan and your gambling psyche, in general. Turn negative when assessing the coaches and players: Look to bet against coaches ill-prepared for the moment or highly-publicized players who are either overrated or overmatched."
DINK, SKINNY and RAILBIRD were three of my favorite sports bettors when I lived in Las Vegas and now I'll try to channel this trio to provide three pieces of information unbeknownst to most sports bettors.
Here we go...
Twice in as many weeks and three of the last four, the Georgia Bulldogs have been installed as an impossible favorite.
What's an impossible favorite?
A favored team that fails to score the number of points it was laying.
The highly-rated Bulldogs managed to score only 26 points (four field goals and a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns) when laying 31 points last Saturday against Missouri in a narrow four-point win against a scrappy underdog in Columbia.
Never in the history of sports betting has a 31-point favorite covered the spread when scoring only 26 points.
Georgia's other "underwhelming" games came against Group of Five competitor Kent State and FCS representative Samford.
The Bulldogs were a 45-point favorite against Kent State in a 39-22 victory on September 24 and a 53-point choice over Samford in a workmanlike 33-0 win on the second Saturday in September.
One last note on Georgia football: The team's first five games this season have produced five unders against the closing numbers at Caesars.
The 2022 World Series will be decided in November.
Game 4 of this year's World Series is scheduled for Tuesday, November 1.
Longtime gamblers understand baseball is a warm weather sport.
There's better than a 50/50 chance a World Series game this season will take place in St. Louis, Cleveland or New York.
Smart handicappers search for opportunities in early April or late October (read: early November) when games are played in frigid temperatures, limiting the flight of the ball and thus depressing scoring chances via the long ball.
Obviously, a baseball travels differently during a 40-degree game in April and a 90-degree game in July.
It is estimated a ball will travel 12-15 feet farther on a gorgeous summer day compared to a fall night better suited for football than baseball when players are covered in multiple layers to stay warm and ski masks are part of the on-field uniform.
What's more, Major League Baseball teams no longer are built to create scoring opportunities with "small ball."
"Get 'em on, get 'em over and get 'em in" is ancient history.
There was a time not long ago when a runner on second base was said to be in scoring position.
In today's game, with the preponderance of massive uppercut swings, every player who steps into the batter's box is in scoring position, especially now with the universal designated-hitter rule in place.
MLB postseason play, to the delight of baseball traditionalists, brings about the elimination of the automatic runner on second base in extra innings.
The rule, known for many years in women's college softball as the International Tie Breaker (ITB), was implemented in MLB during the 2020 pandemic season in hopes of avoiding lengthy extra-inning games.
Like many COVID-19 protocols in sports and other walks of life, the "automatic runner" rule stayed in place long after the viral danger passed.
The queer rule avoids marathon games, for the most part, but exposes baseball's all-in approach to power hitting.
When a sharp single up the middle would score the game-tying run or game-winning run in the top or bottom of the tenth inning, today's players are still swinging for the fences, situational baseball be damned.
Under bettors detest the "automatic runner" rule because it increases scoring chances in extra innings, putting their wager in jeopardy with the spectre of both teams scoring a run in the tenth inning and beyond.
More than half of all money wagered on sporting events worldwide involves the sport of soccer.
That's according to information analysts at Sportradar, a multinational corportation headquartered in Switzerland that specializes in the collection and interpretation of sports betting data.
And within the game of soccer, there's no bigger tournament than the FIFA World Cup.
FIFA roughly translates to the International Federation of Association Football and it counts 211 national soccer associations as members.
FIFA has three primary goals: 1) To grow the sport internationally, 2) To make the sport accessible to everyone and 3) To advocate for integrity and fair play.
One way to meet all three goals is to present the World Cup every four years.
A tournament that dates to 1930, the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup will kickoff in the State of Qatar, a rich country of 2.6 million people in western Asia.
Host Qatar will open the proceedings with a game against Ecuador on November 20.
The championship match of the prestigious tournament is set for December 18.
How much money was bet on the most recent World Cup held four years ago in Russia?
FIFA concluded $140 billion dollars was wagered across 64 games with the championship match generating more than $75 billion in action, or ten times the amount of estimated handle on the most recent Super Bowl between the Rams and Bengals.
Football, of course, is still king in the United States.
On the world stage, however, American football plays a subservient role to futbol.
i can’t freakin wait
