By Bruce Bullingtno
Gambling Editor
North Carolina, which has generally been behind-the-times when it comes to gambling, was powerless to stop the arrival of the newest OTB to arrive in Greensboro.
Furthermore, they cannot stop one from opening in every neighborhood in the state. Right now, it’s possible for your neighbor to be betting the 4 horse in the #9 race from Aqueduct right now.
Are you a transplant who misses being able to whittle away the hours going putting a couple of bucks down on that longshot? Or are you a local who wants in on the action?
Well, you don’t have to drive to Martinsville to join in on the fun. You can actually have your very own OTB in your own living room. You’ll only need two things.
DirecTV (or Dish Network, but c’mon. Who has Dish Network besides Mexicans?)
The internet
You’ll need DirecTV to get TVG, which is channel 602 for those of you that already have it. It shows races from all around the country live. Between 12pm and midnight seven days a week, you can bet on races every couple of minutes as TVG switches it’s coverage from track to track. In a format similar to Bloomberg, the perimeter of the screen is filled with odds for later races, updates on post times and payouts from past races.
And with Slingbox, you can take your little OTB anywhere. As I’m writing this, I’m in the Barnes & Noble at Friendly Center watching TVG and waiting for the 9 race at Calder to start. If there is anything better than action on the go I’d like to know what it is.
Although TVG will encourage you to go to their website to place your wagers, that won’t be an option for you. You’ll need to find a sportsbook that takes race bets. Fortunately, this is hardly a problem. If you are a novice, I recommend Sportsinteraction.com. They have easy-to-understand software that guides you through the process and you’ll be playing like an old pro in no time.
Horse wagering is fun and not very expensive. You can make straight bets for as little as $2 and exotic wagers for $1. If you get lucky and manage to hit a superfecta, you can make well over $1,000 on a $1 investment!
Is this legal? Well, before you ask that, I want you to think about how fast you were going on I-40 yesterday. Was that legal? Probably not.
Don’t sweat it. Unless a member of ALE is staked out behind that ridiculous, life-sized cardboard cutout of Dale Jr. in your living room, you’re in the clear.
It’s always post time somewhere, so get in the game Greensboro!
“Who has Dish Network besides Mexicans?”
WTF?
I’m with Roch, WTF. Mexicans arent the only ones with Dish Network. Dumbasses and cheapskates also chose Dish over Direct TV.
LOL. Yes, I didn’t think of that. My bad.
So which service to bigoted a’hole rednecks subscribe to? Ed, Bruce? You two must know.
What’s bigoted? Dish offers more spanish programming than DirecTV, which is why Dish is so popular with Mexicans who move here.
Go anywhere in town with a large Mexican population and you will see a farm of Dish Network receivers. Nothing bigoted about that.
Roch, are you serious?? I think you might be a tad bit too sensitive there, buddy. I think it is pretty common knowledge that Dish offers a bit more programing that appeals to foreign viewers that Direct TV does. If you are one of these types that feels high minded by throwing around terms like bigot because it makes you feel better about your own standing in the world so be it but peddle your bull **** elsewhere because it is not wanted here.