For those players fortunate enough (either by winning a
satellite tournament or buying in directly) to play at a World Series of Poker
event, you may see some strange occurrences, both at the table and away from
it. In Las Vegas, if anything strange is expected to happen, someone will place
a bet on it.
While some sports books have some conventional prop bets,
such as the over/under on the number of players at the Main Event (6,864.5) or
the odds that Phil “Poker Brat” Hellmuth will win his twelfth bracelet (4:1),
some bets are so outrageous that the bookies have actually pulled them from the
board.
Will Phil Hellmuth wear a ridiculous costume during his
entrance at the 2012 WSOP Main Event?
Yes: -1200
No: +1100
With the popularity of so many comic book movies this
summer, expect Hellmuth to carry a star-spangled shield and enter as his new
superhero identity, “Captain Crybaby”.
Will Phil Hellmuth throw a tantrum at the 2012 WSOP Main
Event just to get on TV?
Yes: -2000
No: +1900
If his entrance into the event doesn’t get him the attention
he wants for himself and his latest project, count on Hellmuth to throw one of
his trademark temper tantrums at “some idiot from Northern Europe”.
Will Howard Lederer or Chris Ferguson show up at the 2012
WSOP Main Event?
Yes: +750
No: -600
Due to their involvement in the Full Tilt Poker scandal,
don’t expect “Bub” or “Jesus” to show their faces around Las Vegas for fear of
encountering angry online players still looking for their deposit refunds.
How many times will Daniel Negreanu mention his vegan diet
during the telecasts?
Over 9,275: -140
Under 9,275: +150
Since Negreanu has only cashed in the Main Event twice, he
isn’t likely to get the airtime he needs to preach about his vegan lifestyle
and condemn bacon lovers everywhere, so the “under” is the safe bet here.
Which type of player will win the 2012 WSOP Main Event?
Veteran pro: +300
Online phenom: +400
Lucky SOB no one has ever heard of: -150
Continuing in the tradition of Chris Moneymaker, Jerry Yang
and Pius Heinz, a player who just learned last week that a straight beats a
flush will make his way to the final table, catch the best cards and take home
millions of dollars, only to drop off the face of the planet and never be heard
from again.
Will online poker be legal in the US before the 2013 WSOP
Main Event?
If Obama wins the White House:
Yes: -120
No: +120
If President Obama wins a second term, he will need the
revenue that online poker taxes can generate to cover the costs of his health
care reform programs.
If Romney wins the White House:
Yes: +1,000,000
No: -990,000
If Mitt Romney wins, expect him and his cronies to turn the
country into the United States of Utah, where drinking, gambling, premarital
sex, and all the other fun things in life will be banned.