For a while now, I’ve been wondering if there’s a line on the Scripps National Spelling Bee. I’ve found watching the bee on ESPN strangely compelling, even though I don’t think Texas Hold’em, is in any danger.
Well, someone is taking bets on the bee, but you can’t place wagers on individual students. From USA Today:
When a competition goes prime time, the gambling industry cannot be far behind, even when the participants are little kids spelling big words.
Will the winner be wearing glasses? Will it be a boy or girl? Will the final word have an “e” in it? Those were just some of the betting propositions available online Thursday as the Scripps National Spelling Bee produced its usual anxious moments on the way to its first-ever evening finish.
“This is the first time we have offered it proper,” said Simon Noble, CEO of PinnacleSports.com. “We had so many requests from customers. We scratched our heads and asked, ‘Is it something we can do or not?'”
Noble said his company had received about $70,000 in bets on seven propositions as of noon Thursday, when the final day of competition began. That is far short of the haul for, say, American Idol, but comparable to the wagers received for this week’s first-round matches at the French Open tennis tournament.
“We’re surprised it is that much, to be honest,” Noble said.
Gamblers’ interest was inevitable in a competition that has been televised on ESPN for 13 years and has spawned at least three movies and a Broadway play. ABC planned to broadcast the finals in a two-hour prime-time special, a first.
People truly will bet on anything, given a chance. And imagine how popular the spelling bee would be if they could somehow get the kids to play poker while they were spelling.
And, oh yeah, people are betting on hurricanes (not a sports team with that name, but the actual deadly storms) and the apocalypse.
Seriously, playing cards used to be a popular pedagogical tool. So using them to further spelling isn’t that far-fetched.
Speaking of education, it looks like I’ll be teaching an honors seminar in the history of gambling for the Honors College here at UNLV next spring. I’ll update as it becomes more concrete.