“Hi Ed,

When I flip a coin, what are the odds of getting heads 9 times in a row?

thank you, Bruce “

A. To work out the odds of this happening, you have to work out the odds of getting heads once, then multiply that by the 9 occurrences needed to return the defined result.

So the odds of getting heads once is 1 out of two possible outcomes, or 50% (0.5). So we then multiply that chance nine times.

0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 = 0.001953

The answer is 0.001953% or roughly 2 in 1000.

So it’s not very likely, but will definitely happen every so often.

Send through any more questions you may have folks!

From Calvin Ayre himself, founder of Bodog:

‘BodogBrand feel they are the only ones who can extend a deal that will be totally unaffected by any non-golf related activity. We actively encourage and endorse employees and customers alike to “Play Hard”,’ he said.

But the stone-cold pimpingest thing that Ayre has said about the whole situation?

‘To be clear, BodogBrand is not telling Tiger “all is forgiven”. In BodogBrand’s eyes, there is nothing to forgive.’

I reckon there is something for his wife to forgive, but the rest of us? No. What did he do to the public, other than provide a convenient gossip topic? I see where you’re coming from, Calvin, and I think potential Bodog players will too.

I like the spirit of this deal, and I like that it offers serious money. Tiger has had slumps in the past, yet he always recovers from them. Aside from the scandal, he has also been suffering from a neck injury, so a lot is going against him right now. Nevertheless, even if he misses the Memorial Tournament and plays poorly in the US Open, he is still going to recover over the 5 years of the sponsorship deal. Offering Tiger $100 million acknowledges that he is still the best in the world, and that Bodog isn’t trying to give Tiger a bum deal because of his recent ill fortune.

Regardless of whether the deal goes through, Bodog certainly has our attention! If you would like to bet on sports, play poker or try your luck in the casino, then sign up for a Bodog account today.

Anthony’s strategy was pretty simple: just keep playing.

“I noticed back in December that the jackpot was getting pretty high. I knew someone was going to get it so I’ve been playing a lot. I almost quit a couple times and then it hit – last night.”

He’s got similarly straightforward plans for his winnings, too.

“I’m going to pay off some house debt for sure and I also plan on helping some family members that need some help,” he said. “Also, my parent’s 40th anniversary is coming up so they’ll be getting a very nice and long vacation.”

It’s always good to hear about a big jackpot win at an online casino, especially when the winner’s loyalty to a particular site has paid off. He clearly doesn’t need it, but good luck to Anthony in the future anyway. If you are looking for your own chance to win big money, then check out the casinos in our review pages, many of which also offer massive progressive jackpots. Some even have jackpots worth millions of dollars, like Jackpot Pinatas at Cherry Red Casino!

They were rightly suspicious too. In my experience 100% of these letters are scams – if you win a lottery I’m sure you’ll already know about it right? If you contact the sender of one of these letters they will ask you for a deposit to secure your winnings, and then you’ll never hear from them again.

Here’s an example email we received recently.

I recieved a letter in the mail stating that I had won $250,780.00 US dolor out of 17 other winners. ($4,263,260 Total USD)

I know that there have been check frauds and counterfeit checks going around so I want to make sure this is legit. I have been on this site before a while back but I honestly dont remember what I did. I do like betting on football and such. And every now and then Ill pick numbers. And if this is a scam then I will do everything I can do stop this because playing with people, family’s emotions is a great way to have bad karma come back to you. Never the less, have a good day and thank you for reading this email.

If you receive a letter like this, my advice is to send it on to your local law enforcement agency and let them know that the scammers are active in your area so others can be warned. Under no circumstances should you ever contact these people. Through our research, a lot of the activity seems to be coming from criminal gangs in Ontario, Canada – which is for some reason one of the biggest online fraud problem areas in the world.

Be careful out there folks, stick to the sites mentioned here at OG and you’ll always have a fun & safe experience online.

First up Rob from the USA asked.

“I am wondering about 5 dimes casino, is it legit, do they payout, are they reputable to play on?”

Well Rob, that’s a well timed question, because we are just about to add 5 Dimes here at OnlineGambling.com as a recommended online sportsbook.

So your answer is yes, I trust  5 Dimes, and they will be featured here at OG soon as a good place to play. But if you’re signing up to play casino games, I’d take a look at this list of online casinos first. If you specifically want to play casino games at a site that also has a good sportsbook, I’d probably choose Bodog as their casino is excellent and they often run bonus promos related to sports events that are actually worth playing. It’s where I usually play if I feel like playing casino games. Hope that helps.

Question #2 came from Pennie

“I haven’t gambled online in years and now I want to deposit into casinos and play Roulette. But the Casinos I’ve checked out want to tie up my money so I can’t even cash out my own deposit or winnings! I’ve spent the whole day searching for a Casino that will allow me to cash out when I want to and I can’t find one. Can any one here help me?  Can you name a couple good Casinos for me?”

This is a common question. If you’re like me, you probably don’t care too much about bonuses and the terms and conditions that sometimes come with accepting them. At some sites they give you a bonus to lock your money up until you clear a certain amount of playthrough or earn rewards points. Never fear though as this is easily fixed. All you have to do is email the support department and request to become a non-bonus player. Then you will be able to deposit and withdraw at will without worrying about earning points or playthrough. It also helps to use an e-wallet to deposit, as it usually makes withdrawals much easier.

Once again Bodog is a good choice as they run their bonuses differently to most casinos and have a great support department.  You shouldn’t have problem with clearing bonuses there.

Hope that helps Pennie!

I’d just like to add a footnote to that last answer. We can’t look at the casinos as bad guys for adding these terms to their bonuses – they are giving away free money after all, so have the right to determine how it is given away. All the rules that are in place with bonuses these days never used to exist back in the early days of online casinos. Bonuses used to be just like the free drinks at the tables in Vegas – given to anyone playing ! But over time players got greedy and started abusing the bonuses and casinos had to become a lot more savvy about how & when they give their money away. If you look really closely at T&Cs you might sometimes see that residents of certain countries are excluded from bonus offers (like Denmark).  This is because they became so good at manipulating the terms and conditions to obtain bonus money with little risk that the casinos gave up and stopped offering them free money!

Send me some more questions to ed @ onlinegambling.com. I like answering them – it makes me feel useful… lol

You can also friend me on Facebook now if you like. I finally gave in and set up a profile. But I need some friends!

This includes online casinos and poker rooms.

Now, it won’t happen anytime soon, I’m sure, but 3D online casinos could be a big step up in improving the experience for players at home. Right now, live dealers like those at Golden Palace are the closest you can get to a live casino atmosphere in your home. The addition of 3D would bring players even further into the action. Hell, add in some binaural recordings of casino sounds and players would hardly know they were still at home.

I will be pretty happy when UFC events are broadcast in 3D at a cinema near me, but I will be ecstatic when I can play in 3D at Go Casino or Full Tilt Poker while listening to 3D casino noises all around me. Bring on the future!

Now, we can’t be sure just how much he bets on a yearly basis, as he obviously keeps things secretive so that his bets don’t lose value with other punters following his lead. Regardless of the exact amount, it’s certainly substantially more than anyone else wagers, and Ranogajec’s protestations that he really doesn’t wager all that much can’t be taken too seriously.

The amount he bets isn’t the most interesting thing about his operation, though. What I find really intriguing is the way he goes about making a fortune from gambling. First of all, he has a massive staff that analyzes gambling opportunities from all over the world in order to find odds that are inconsistent with the probability of winning. Finding betting odds that are favorable to the bettor is standard for a successful gambler, but Ranogajec’s team are also able to place bets as late as possible thanks to direct connections to betting pools. This stops other gamblers from following their picks, so that the odds aren’t disastrously shortened before betting has closed. Despite the huge amounts that Ranogajec bets, his profit margins are apparently only single digits – which still means he’s making millions of dollars, thanks to the size of his bankroll and the bets being made!

You don’t need to have billions of dollars in capital and a team of analysts to turn a profit on sports betting, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Successful betting is a lot of work, and it requires incredible self-control. You have to manage your bankroll very strictly and need be an expert on the bookmaker’s craft. If you want to become a better punter, then it is worthwhile checking out a betting exchange where you can set your own odds, or take the odds set by other users. It’s a really interesting system that can greatly reward players who take the time to research betting markets, so give it a try if you are thinking of going professional with your sports or horse racing betting.

Now, the survey had a lot of findings, including that Gen Y is as committed to philanthropy as any other generation, but we’re here to talk about gambling, aren’t we? Well, it turns out that the majority of Gen Y surveyed thought gambling wasn’t a moral issue. The kicker? Many of the respondents from other generations said the same thing.

I reckon that seeing young poker players like Annette Obrestad, Tom Dwan, and Joe Cada being so successful is probably part of the reason Gen Y are more willing to accept gambling as a healthy leisure activity. They are young, successful players who are among the best in the world. It would be hard for liberal Gen Y’s to think that gambling is wrong when looking at these young millionaires!

It’s good to see a shift from the old way of thinking about gambling, as it is just a bit of harmless fun for the vast majority of players. Playing a few rounds of craps within your limits or spending your time perfecting your poker game is just another way to relax. That a lot of other young people also see it that way points to a bright future for those gamblers who have to deal with politicians harping on in a cheap grab for more votes.

I'm thinking it'll be this with horses.

There are rumors that Michael Mann – famed director and an important part of the legendary Miami Vice – is attached to a pilot for a drama set in the exciting world of horse racing. It’s called “Luck” and it’ll be made for HBO, which usually guarantees 3 things: sex, violence and Machiavellian intrigues.

David Milch is writing it, with Mann to direct the pilot, so I really hope this is picked up. The question is: Will it get more people interested in horse racing, or will they assume that going to the racetrack means tawdry affairs and stylish violence? …Actually, I bet people would find that a compelling enough reason to start following horse racing.

If you already have a taste for horse betting, then try out BetUS or one of our recommended racebooks on our racing pages.

It created a firestorm of interest around the web and media agencies. And to be honest I’ve been a little astounded by some of the negativity and ignorance shown by some respected journalists reporting the change in direction. How do they get through life ignorant to what is happening in the rest of the world and only forming opinions based on their own little neighborhood? They couldn’t be so against Stern’s thoughts if they had done the slightest bit of research on the topic at all and seen what the rest of the world has been doing for years.

Many have derided Stern for what is simply an admission that gambling happens now anyway, so why not benefit from it? It’s logical, and forward thinking from the most respected commissioner in pro sports.

He said quite candidly that “”The betting issues are actually going to become more intense as states in the U.S. and governments in the world decide that the answers to all of their monetary shortfalls are the tax that is gambling.”

He may be the first US sports leader to think like this, but he’s still a long way behind the rest of the world. Nearly everywhere has regulated & taxed sports betting already. The US is the only developed western nation I know of where it’s citizens don’t have the freedom to walk down the street to legally place a bet on their favorite sports team – except in Nevada of course.

The Author of the piece, Ian Thomsen, had this to say; “My take, as written several times over the years, is that legalized betting on professional sports in the U.S. is inevitable for two reasons: (1) If sports wagering becomes a legal and taxable form of revenue, then governments will actively police sports betting in order to protect that revenue base, as well as to safe-guard the leagues that create the windfall of new taxes; and (2) Betting on games will create more fan interest and, ultimately, bring in more money to the NBA and other leagues.”

It’s just a pity that it has taken the lure of dollars to make more people in the USA see the light when it comes to regulated gambling on sports. Why couldn’t they have just done this already because it makes sense? The land of the free is more like land of the ‘nothing comes for free’ these days.

In light of the NBA’s change in thinking, BetUS has posted odds on which sports league will regulate gambling on their games first. Of course the NBA is an almost unbackable 2/3 favorite. They’re also favorite to have an NBA team in Las Vegas first at 1/1.

I know I’d love to see the Las Vegas Kings in town! But who needs ANOTHER excuse to visit Vegas?!