You can bet on almost anything. Most bets are placed on sporting events, gaming events and other types of day-to-day happenings. But some people like to push the envelope past bets on real cash casino games and wager on mysteries that most of us rarely think about.
If you’re ready for an adrenaline rush along with an adventure of the extraordinary and the unexpected, check out the different types of activities and occurrences that people will be betting on this year.
Underwater Poker
You can play poker at any Vegas or online casino. The casinos all run poker tables and multiple variations of poker are available at the online casino.
Turns out that there’s a community of scuba divers who also enjoy playing poker and invite observers to bet on their underwater poker tournaments. The tournaments are played online, in clear view of the observers who can watch the poker action and place wagers on the outcomes. The scuba gear-clad players use waterproof cards and each has 1 bottle of air to suffice while the action is taking place underwater.
Underwater “dives” are also popular poker venues – the dive is a glass-enclosed room that sits underwater with players swimming to and from the dive, but while they’re in the dive, they have no need for masks or air tanks because the room is air-regulated.
Celebrity Deaths
It may sound a bit macabre but some betting rooms do brisk business in accepting wagers on celebrity deaths. These “deadpool” wagers involve predictions on the death of politicians, celebrities or other public figures. As with any other type of betting, the odds depend on the individual’s age, health, rumored drug usage and dangerous pursuits.
But there are surprises. People were betting on Betty White’s upcoming demise for 20 years before she finally passed away last year at age 99, making her fans and many betting shops quite unhappy.
Rock, Paper and Scissors Tournaments
Pundits have been betting on sporting events for thousands of years. There is even archaeological evidence of betting having taken place on the ancient Greek Olympic games that took place over 2000 years ago.
Today, people bet on tennis, football, hockey, basketball and other sports match-ups. Many people are also betting on esports – online video game competitions.
But people who are looking for the opportunity to bet on a simpler “event” can check out Rock, Paper, Scissors tournaments. Rock, Paper, Scissors has become a competitive sport. You can lay wagers on organized tournaments and even world championships, making this childhood game a serious and potentially lucrative one.
Wife-Carrying
Carrying your wife around is one way to keep track of her whereabouts but it’s also a sport in Ireland and other northern European countries like Finland and Sweden.
In a wife-carrying competition, men carry women (their wives or another woman) through an obstacle course. The couple that reaches the finish line in the fastest time wins and anyone who bet on that couple can collect their reward.
Some competitions allow the man to carry the woman in any position that the couple wants while other wife-carrying tournaments specify how the woman must be carried - fireman’s carry (over the shoulders), piggyback, or where the wife hangs upside-down with her legs around the husband’s shoulders, holding onto his waist (Estonian-style)!
President’s Hair
There’s nothing new about betting on which candidate will win an election but some political pundits have taken the interest in making a prediction on our new American Chief Executive a little further with bets on the president’s next haircut or hairpiece. With the way that politics are being played out today, it’s a good idea to inject a little humor into the political arena.
Aliens
Do they exist? Do they visit Earth? Where might they land? Who will see them? Will they talk to someone? Will the authorities acknowledge their arrival? These and other questions have interested people over the millennium and now you can place money on your beliefs by wagering on these types of issues.
Betting on aliens can get detailed. A number of sportsbooks offer prop bets on aliens including questions about their colors, their language, whether or not they will abduct celebrities (and if so, whether or not they will bring them back), and even which country the aliens will destroy first. You can suggest your own alien-themed prop bet to the casino where other people can wager with you on these pressing issues.
Cheese Rolling
You gotta figure, if there’s a sport for wife carrying, there has to be one for cheese rolling. And, sure enough, there is. Cheese rolling contests involve rolling big old chunks of round cheese down a hill. The first cheese to get to the finishing line wins. When you’re finished betting on cheese rolling, which generally takes place in the UK, you can move over to bog snorkeling (which is exactly what it sounds like), also a UK tradition.
Ferret Bingo
Do ferrets play bingo? Evidently, they do. You can bet on a ferret’s success as a ferret is placed into a cage with several exit tunnels. Each tunnel is numbered. The tunnel that the ferret chooses to exit the cage is the winning number. It’s all in good fun and the ferrets don’t seem to mind.