Washington Side Bets

Side bets, known in casino parlance as "propositions" and encompassing just about anything under the sun, have grown so wildly popular that they rival more traditional wagers made on the Super Bowl, Las Vegas sports book operators say."
- L. A. Times - Feb. 1, 2007

Las Vegas bookies have been coming up with more and more side bets to entice football fans to bet on the Super Bowl. Everything from comparing points in the game to scores in other sporting events to establishing special odds for an overtime game have helped to generate millions more in wagering. In order to appeal to a wider fan base, Las Vegas has apparently decided this year to add some politically-themed propositions including the following Washington side bets:

* Which will be greater, the halftime point spread or the number of declared Democratic presidential candidates?

* Who will fumble first, Peyton Manning or George W. Bush?

* Which will be greater, the total number of field goals or the length in years of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence?

* Which will be higher, the total number of points scored by the winning team or President Bush’s approval rating?

* Odds of either team achieving victory by a margin of more than 70 points: 21,500 to one.

* Which will be greater, the average cost of a 30-second halftime television ad or the amount spent per minute on the Iraq War?

* Will the total number of safeties scored in the Super Bowl be greater than or equal to the number of jokes told by Hillary Clinton?

* Which will be greater, the total game yardage or the number of times Bush has said "evil"?

* Which will occur first, a score by either team in the first two seconds or an apology by Dick Cheney?

* Which will be greater, Chicago’s total rushing yardage or Ted Kennedy’s post-game weight?

* Odds of game going into double overtime: roughly the same as Democratic Congress passing a binding resolution against escalating the war.

* Which will be greater, the number of passes attempted or the number of times Bush says "surge" instead of "escalation"?

* Which will be longer, Prince’s halftime show or Bush’s last State of the Union speech?

* Odds that the Iraq War will end before the Super Bowl: astronomical.