I have worked on a trading floor in some capacity or another for about 10 years. I have spent many a night in the poker rooms of various casinos. Between the two, I have come across just about every kind of gambler that exists. For some, the only worthwhile action out there is a game of cards or a commodity trade. For others, creating the action from nothing more than a can of tuna or box of Girl Scout Cookies is only way to scratch the itch.
I recall one morning where I spent hours trying to track down the right person at the national headquarters for Bumble Bee Tuna. You see, we had one of their industrial-sized cans of tuna. The bet(s): how much water could we squeeze out of said can, measured first by volume, and then by weight. The can had been sitting on this guy's desk for no less than 4 years. I was not calling the Bumble Bee folks to inquire about the water. No...I was calling to make sure that you couldn't die by drinking that water, because once we drained it, we were going to see if someone could drink it and hold it down for at least 10 minutes.
Tabasco chugging contests, Girl Scout cookie eat-a-thons, and even bets on who would get the next outside phone call dominated my formative years among traders. One of my favorites was creating over/unders on how many cars would get through the stoplight outside our office.
There's always something to bet on.
Enter the Super Bowl. Anyone can bet on the winner. Anyone can bet on the spread. Booooooooooooooooring.
Give me the coin toss all day. I have bet on the coin toss for the last 6 years. First, I bet on what I think the player will call while the coin is in the air. Then, I put down some dough on what turns up. Will they defer? What direction will they choose to go in? You can have an ungodly sum of money won or lost before the ball is even teed up.
Will the first missed field goal be wide left or wide right?
Which team will score first?
Will the team that scores first win?
Which player will score the first points of the game?
What kind of play will he score those points?
Who is going to call the first timeout?
Will the first challenge result in an upheld or overturned decision?
You don't even need to confine yourself to just the Super Bowl. You can bet on whether there will be more field goals in the Super Bowl or Washington Capitals goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Indulge your inner degenerate gambler this weekend. Throw a five-spot on whether the margin of victory in the Super Bowl will be greater than the Magic/Celtics game.
If you want a sure thing, bet on the fact that someone will say, "You are the dumbest person alive" before halftime. And for God's sake, it's "Heads" in the air, and "Tails" on the ground.