How to Obsessively Gamble: Without Being a Degenerate

I'm not going to lie, I love betting on sports. It can make any game more exciting and turn a normally meaningless game into a battle of life and death for you, the gambler.

Now, being relatively money-less, I don't have the funds for an obsessive gambling habit. I can't afford to lose the money that i don't have (or my mom doesn't have). Therefore, I wanted to find another option to place some bets and have some fun, but to avoid all of the risk and problems.

I stumbled upon, CentSports, a free sports betting site. On this website, you are automatically given $.10 at sign-up and free to bet it on anything you want: baseball, football, basketball, soccer, college sports, tennis, boxing, MMA, etc. You can bet straight or you can parlay. Basically, it is all the fun of a bookie without the threat of getting your legs broken.

Better yet, if you take that $.10 and blow it on the first bet, they keep giving you $.10 more everytime that you fall below the $.10 line. It's a never-ending fund for you to gamble with. Now, I know, $.10 isn't much, but if you're good and you can work it up to $10, all money after that is yours to keep and you can cash it out. Yes, for most of us, that is a pipe dream, but that is what makes it fun in the long run! I know I'll probably blow it long before $10 (my best is $4), but I keep trying and am constantly screaming at the tv over a $.20 parlay of Penn State and the Over.

If this sounds like something you might be interested in, you can sign up here. I love it and can't imagine this kind of harmless fun doesn't suit most other people either.

Scot Green's 64 Million Dollar Mistake

When referee Scot Green incorrectly overturned Troy Polamalu's game clinching TD as time expired, he did more than create the first ever 11-10 score in NFL history. The slip-up cost gamblers an estimated $64 million, based on estimates from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

According to the Tribune, 66 percent of the estimated $100 million that was bet on the game was in favor of Pittsburgh, with the spread ranging between -4.5 and -5. The puzzling call wiped away a touchdown which would have brought the score to 17-10, enough for Pittsburgh to cover. According to Green, an illegal forward pass occured prior to Polamalu's touchdown, resulting in a dead ball. This would be a logical explanation if a.) there actually was a forward pass, and b.) the ball had hit the ground. Since the ball never hit the ground, according to NFL rules, it is not a dead ball, and the penalty can be declined. After the game, the NFL contacted Green and informed him that he had misinterpreted the rule.

I'm hoping this is an isolated incident, but I'm worried that its not. I don't want to say that the NFL is fixed, but sometimes I really wonder. This is the second similiar incident that has occured this season with the Chargers involved. Last time, a mistake by Ed Houchili cost gamblers millions of dollars. Coincidence? Maybe. Is it also a coincidence that Pittsburgh commited 13 penalties to San Diego's 2? (Including a horrible holding call which negated another Pittsburgh TD)

The bottom line is that the NFL is fueled by gambling, whether they want to admit it or not. I really don't think its that far-fetched to imagine the NFL influencing calls. At the very least, Roger Goddell needs to address the way referees handle the last two minutes of the game. It all starts with making referees more accountable for their actions. Especially with millions of dollars riding on the outcome.