Boxing is one of the few sporting contests bet upon in which judges of performance may determine the results. The Nevada Gaming Commission does not otherwise permit bets on noncontests in which victory is not determined in some arena or field of action. Although sports books in England often list political election contests (even election contests in the United States), this is not permitted in Nevada casinos and sportsbooks. Las Vegas bettors are not allowed to wager on Academy Award winners, winners of contests such as the Miss America pageant, or Time magazine’s Person of the Year. A decade ago a famous television series ended its run with a revelation about who shot the star of the series (“Who Shot J. R.”). One casino put odds up on the list of television characters that might have done the terrible deed, but the odds were listed only in jest – or as a publicity stunt. No bets were taken.
Five years ago, however, the Palace Station casino did post odds and took bets at the beginning of a baseball season on just who would be named the most valuable player in each league. One bettor, Howard Schwartz, who just happens to run the Gambler’s Book Club in downtown Las Vegas – the largest gambling specialty bookstore in the world – decided he liked the twenty-five to one odds on Andre Dawson, a player with the Chicago Cubs. Schwartz wagered a modest ten dollars. When at the end of the season Dawson was named as the most valuable player; Schwartz retrieved his “winning” ticket and marched to the Palace Station. There he was cheerfully greeted and handed back ten dollars. He was told that the Nevada Gaming Commission had heard about the contest (it was advertised in the local newspapers); the commission had determined that the contest violated gaming rules, and it ordered the casino to stop the contest – to close it down. It was, of course, a stupid move on the part of the commission. They could have warned the casino never to do it again and fined it a sufficient amount of money to assure it they would never do it again and that others similarly inclined to have such contests would never do it again. Had they known the names of all persons who entered the contests, they could have returned all the entry money. But such names were not known, as bets (unless over $10,000 in cash) are made anonymously. Instead, they voided bets already taken. Schwartz was, to say the least, irate. Schwartz had a bona fide bet. He had put his money at risk. He had won. When told he could have his money back, he inquired if the casino had a plan to return money to all players including losers – including losers who quite naturally would not come to the casino expecting to cash in their tickets. They had no plan outside of some minimal signage. All the casinos were put on notice not to be put into such a position in the future, as Schwartz used his critically central location among serious bettors – his bookstore, as well as all the talk radio shows of Las Vegas – to inform the public that one casino would not pay off its winners. Of course, the Palace Station would have liked to pay off the winning ticket, but the gaming commission told it that it could not do so. Considerable public relations damage was done to the casino and all sports books in Las Vegas over the incident, but the point was made clear – it must be a legitimate sporting event determined on the field of play, or no bets can be taken.
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