Teach
01-22-2019, 09:44 AM
Not just Nevada, but now Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi, West Virginia, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island have already legalized sports betting. In the “on-deck circle” are: New York and Arkansas. “In the hole” (that may be why they’re doing this) are: Illinois, Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, California, Oregon, Ohio, Washington, D.C., Tennessee, and Virginia. It’s quite possible that the only state that will not legalize sports betting is Utah.
As I think back over 60 years ago, the only place one could make a sports wager, or bet on a number, was through a “bookie” (Oh, you could make bets among friends). Yes, I suppose you could travel out to Las Vegas (there were mostly “sawdust joints,” downtown, in those days), yet, in those days, at least in our Boston neighborhood, going to Vegas was a rarity. Who could afford it? Yet, a small wager with a “bookie,” that was commonplace. Guys would often bet among themselves (“Who is Notre Dame playing this Saturday? Southern Cal. I’ll lay five on ‘The Fightin’ Irish’. You’re on!”).
In fact, one of my friend’s father was a “bookie”. Another friend’s sister married a guy whose father was a bookie. In fact, “bookies,” in those days, were as common as dandelions on a warm spring day. All you need do is go down to one of pool halls, “Mickey’s,” “Cutler’s,” etc. Or, you could stop by the “G & G Deli” on Blue Hill Ave. Sometimes, depending on the day of the week, or the time of day, there were as many as three or four bookies in the “G & G” alone.
Oh, “bookies” won’t disappear. One of the things the state won’t do is “front” you. Nor will they cut you some slack if you’re a “good customer”. After the weekend, if all is well, you just meet up in some shopping mall and settle affairs. No records. No nothing. Seamless. And, also quite convenient and clandestine. Yet, some of that could change if the there is a proliferation of Internet-approved (not just these off-shore "joints") sports betting.
Yes, times, they're are a-changing. When it comes to gambling, we’re in a state of flux. Unlike any previous time, at least in my memory, maybe with the exception of the “Black Sox scandal," or the college-basketball “point-shaving” games, i.e., L.I.U., etc. has sports and sports wagering come under such scrutiny.
As I think back over 60 years ago, the only place one could make a sports wager, or bet on a number, was through a “bookie” (Oh, you could make bets among friends). Yes, I suppose you could travel out to Las Vegas (there were mostly “sawdust joints,” downtown, in those days), yet, in those days, at least in our Boston neighborhood, going to Vegas was a rarity. Who could afford it? Yet, a small wager with a “bookie,” that was commonplace. Guys would often bet among themselves (“Who is Notre Dame playing this Saturday? Southern Cal. I’ll lay five on ‘The Fightin’ Irish’. You’re on!”).
In fact, one of my friend’s father was a “bookie”. Another friend’s sister married a guy whose father was a bookie. In fact, “bookies,” in those days, were as common as dandelions on a warm spring day. All you need do is go down to one of pool halls, “Mickey’s,” “Cutler’s,” etc. Or, you could stop by the “G & G Deli” on Blue Hill Ave. Sometimes, depending on the day of the week, or the time of day, there were as many as three or four bookies in the “G & G” alone.
Oh, “bookies” won’t disappear. One of the things the state won’t do is “front” you. Nor will they cut you some slack if you’re a “good customer”. After the weekend, if all is well, you just meet up in some shopping mall and settle affairs. No records. No nothing. Seamless. And, also quite convenient and clandestine. Yet, some of that could change if the there is a proliferation of Internet-approved (not just these off-shore "joints") sports betting.
Yes, times, they're are a-changing. When it comes to gambling, we’re in a state of flux. Unlike any previous time, at least in my memory, maybe with the exception of the “Black Sox scandal," or the college-basketball “point-shaving” games, i.e., L.I.U., etc. has sports and sports wagering come under such scrutiny.