Featured Articles Archive - Page 770

California Legalizes Internet Gambling

California Gov. Gray Davis recently authorized what may be the second largest expansion of legal gambling in the history of the United States. At the same time, he brought legal Internet gambling to a significant percentage of the country's population. Of course, nothing can compare to Gov...read more

Bob Owens Handicaps the Division Championships

Last week my only play -- Philadelphia -- easily handled Tampa Bay, to win a net of 2 units. I'm happy I resisted the temptation to wager on the Jets and the Dolphins, as both went down. Many bettors crave "action," the more the better. They just can't have fun unless they've bet the board...read more

Bob Owens: NFL Playoff Handicap

I have only one selection from the four games in Round One of the playoffs, the Wild Card weekend. Before getting to that let me dispose of the mea culpa. Most who do a public selection service, free or for a fee, don't want to mention their losing picks...read more

Why Disney Won't Take Bets From Vermont

The Los Angeles Times broke the story at the end of May 2001: The Walt Disney Co. is backing a pay-to-play online gaming venture. Disney's partner, Skillgames, was supposed to officially launch its Web site, Skillgames.com, in 2001 "amid a multimillion-dollar promotional blitz." This particular project may have evaporated into the vaporweb...read more

Owens Analyzes Three More Bowl Games, and the Entire Selection Process

[Note: I rate each play either as 1 unit, 1.5 units, or 2 units. These ratings will appear in parentheses next to each selection. The higher the number, the better I feel about the play. The point spreads shown are a consensus of those in effect at the time of writing.] Tostitos Fiesta, Jan...read more

Bob Owens Handicaps the College Bowls

There are really no qualifications -- no masters degree from Yale, for instance -- needed to publicly make sports selections against the spread. A certain amount of hard crust, I suppose, is an essential, as well as a plump ego. And, oh yeah, some knowledge of the game and how it's played does help. With a reported 1000 or more touts surfacing each college football season -- many of them with the moral standards of John Gotti -- it's clear that many bettors feel the need for help. I did a football handicapping service through much of the 90s, but in a very low-key manner: the twists and shouts of the touting fraternity leave me cold...read more

Busted For Betting Online?

Is gambling on the Internet legal? Some state and federal law enforcement officials declare flatly, "yes, it's all illegal." Yet with hundreds of Web sites taking billions of dollars in wagers each year, fewer than 25 people have ever been prosecuted for online gambling...read more

Casinos in Mexico? The Formal vs. The Actual

During fairs in Mexico, some gambling operators request permits to stage gambling events that are officially illegal. By the time the permit is denied, the fair is over. Meanwhile, the operator can display a paper proving that he has applied for a permit. This dichotomy between the formal and the actual often presents problems to the literal and legalistic mind of the Anglo businessman...read more

New York Approves New Gambling Measure

In an effort to offset some of the expenses associated with the September 11, 2001 tragedy, and to replace lost tax revenues resulting from the events and an economic slowdown, the New York Legislature recently approved a casino gambling bill...read more

Casinos in Mexico? The Endless Question

It's a topic of perpetual fascination to those in the American and Canadian gaming industry, and one that causes considerable head scratching. In the past dozen years, especially in the last few, the matter has sporadically roiled the body politic in Mexico itself...read more