In this year’s version of March Madness you can win a cool billion bucks without ever laying a dime. Ain’t that great? All you have to do is to beat odds of 9.2 quintillion to one. How many of you out there know what a quintillion is?
Warren Buffet got a lot of press when it was announced that he was putting up a billion dollar prize for a perfect March Madness bracket, and that was his intention in the first place. It’s doubtful that Mr. Buffet ever really considered that he would have to pay out the billion, although he is one of the few guys around that could actually cover that wager if he happened to lose.
But even at those astronomical odds there will still be plenty of players filling out there brackets and sending them in hoping to collect the billion. Even at quintillions to one, optimistic bettors will still see the chance there to cash in for big bucks.
Of course we now have all manner of ‘experts’, big and small, who are offering their predictions to anyone with the price of a subscription. Take your pick. They are all calling for different outcomes, so much for the experts. If those people are so good that bettors should pay them for their picks, let’s see which one of them is going to get the billion bucks.
With 68 teams qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, just setting the odds for all those games is going to be quite a challenge, not to mention totals and money lines. And then, the moment that the games of the first round are completed, another new set of odds have to be posted without delay. Nevada handicappers are going to be very busy during the month of March!
March Madness also tends to bring out some of the sharpest bettors in the world to challenge the Vegas numbers. Just keeping the books balanced becomes quite a task in the month of March.
Jay Rood, who directs the sportsbook at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, likened the situation to sitting ducks, “It’s like a duck on a pond. On top everything is peaceful and serene. But underneath, the duck is pedaling like crazy.”
Actually the betting was hot and heavy on the NCAA conference championships this past week. While they do not come with all of the pomp and pageantry of the big tourney, the conference finals draw just as many bettors as the big event.
Don’t forget to fill out your bracket!
