Sportsbook.com Review
Bettors have had quite a journey through the years when trying to scratch that itch for some action. Two generations ago, sports betting business was conducted in the back of the Laundromat with Tony Two Toes and Frankie the Snake. They had a tendency to be very persuasive when it came to settling up bets and reporting them to the Better Business Bureau wasn’t exactly an option. As the technology boom hit, blue collar workers could lay a hundred dollars on the afternoon baseball game in a matter of seconds at the comfort of their computer. With the funds automatically deducted from a checking or savings account, sports bets were automatically paid up. In the alternative though, sometimes a wife off on her checkbook balance is scarier than a bookie. With recent laws banning bank transfers to offshore online gambling sites and Vegas seemingly tightening their stronghold on the market, the future of sports betting is up in the air. I’m here to review the sites that are still in business based on four categories: Looks, Betting Options, Cashier, and Fellow Reviewers. Today’s Internet gambling site is sportsbook.com

Looks:
I was greeted with a pop up of a classy young lady who had the appearance of Tara Reid had she never met booze, pills, or plastic surgery. The overall layout is very user friendly with an assortment of sports betting tips and statistics on the left and each sport available to wager prominently displayed on top. After logging in, the registered user will notice their active betting ticket in a large window on the right, which is very convenient.

Betting Options:
sportsbook.com is very convenient for betting on the big games of the weekend. All of the nationally televised games have a number of sports prop bets available to wager. There is almost literally anything to bet on at sportsbook.com, as witnessed by my play of Donny Osmond to win Dancing with the Stars parlayed with Ron Paul to be the Republican Presidential candidate in 2012 for a +2700 payout!

Cashier:
Speaking of Republicans, when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed in 2006, it changed the way virtually every sports book did business. The UIGEA made it illegal for U.S. banks to process funds to offshore sports gambling accounts. After many clever workarounds by the determined gamblers, the law is pretty much finalized as of December 1, 2009. As a result of the laws, it is harder for United States bettors to get their money into the sports book and subsequently harder to withdraw. A few of the options U.S. gamblers have tried include wire transfers, Visa gift cards, and various online accounts such as Usemywallet.com, each harder to use than the time before. For gamblers not in the U.S., do not worry as your government allows deposit by Visa, MasterCard, cash, air mail, and pony express.

Fellow Reviewers:
In accordance with the aforementioned UIGEA, it goes without saying many forum users at gambling sites such as covers.com do not have the highest of praise for sportsbook.com. A number of the site users have claimed being still owed in the neighborhood of up to $8,000. A few forum members have had positive reviews but they seemed a little suspicious with user names such as Bill_Sportsbookcom_CustomerService, and sportsbookdotcompayedmeontime.

Final Review:
Personally, I really liked the betting options offered and the ease of doing cross sport parlays and such but being a United States gambler, I’d have no choice but to stay away from sportsbook.com. Rehab Tara Reid gave it a nice try though!

Northern Illinois +20 @ Illinois
I’m an Illinois fan and although I think they’ll have no trouble with NIU, I don’t see them hitting the 20. In the past, the Illini would give up 10 point runs while leading, seemingly because they were bored.With the new freshman studs on campus, let’s see if the intensity improves.

Duquesne @ Iowa+2
Iowa is pretty thin in the talent department this year but it’s hard to go against a Big Ten team at home against Duquesne, especially when you can get points. This is a line if you look hard enough can be had at 3, but for the sake of post time, we’ll go with the 2.

NBA $500 Maximum Bet

Chicago Bulls @ Sacramento Kings+3
I’ve been looking for this line since I saw the schedule a couple days ago. I have Sacramento a 3 to 4 point favorite here. The Bulls start their annual “circus trip”, where they have to leave the United Center so the circus can come to town. This trip has been a nightmare even back when #23 played. The Bulls only play about 7-8 guys in their rotation and look for them to be beat towards the end of this road trip. The Kings have been playing good lately and are only a 49% consensus pick.

The hopes for an undefeated college basketball season were dashed rather quickly thanks to Siena winning but not covering. Pressures off now! They say the season is a marathon and not a sprint and as we enter the 15th hour of ESPN coverage, I’m starting to get cramps. There are some great games on paper tonight, but before we get to them let’s get a bank roll going.

Pick: Arkansas Little Rock @ Tulsa -16
Temple @ Georgetown Over 129

In the NBA tonight, I think Vegas has the wrong team favored in a game. Might have to go big for the 1st NBA bet of the year.

Siena vs. Northeastern
Siena already has a win under their belt while this is the first game of the year for Northeastern. I think if Siena can get out ahead before NE breaks the rust off, they should be able to hold on and cover the -11. Look for the crowd to play an important part, heck it’s 11AM on a Tuesday, what else do college kids have to do.
Pick Siena -11

Northwestern @ Illinois Over 50
Michigan @ Wisconsin -8.5
Notre Dame @ Pitt -6
Iowa @ Ohio State under -37.5
Syracuse @ Louisville -7
Missouri -1.5 @ Kansas St.

Super Teaser: ND @ Pitt PK ; Syracuse @ Louisville -1

Notes: A lot of turmoil in Michigan right now, they’ve got AD’s going after students and coaching speculation, this will be a big test to see if Rich Rod can keep the troops united.

Syracuse played good towards the end of the game last week. Whether that was because their coach gave a passionate speech about never giving up or because they wanted a backdoor cover, we’ll never know.

Troy @ Arkansas -13
Houston-3.5 @ Central Florida
BYU -27.5 @ New Mexico
GA Tech -13.5 @ Duke
Ariz St. @ Oregon Over 51
Texas @ Baylor over 51.5

Notes: #13 ranked Houston has been holding on in some close games lately including a one point win last week. Central Florida’s last two losses have been to Miami and Texas, not bad programs.

I would not bet against New Mexico right now. There coach punched the lights out of his own assistant, and I’m sure everybody heard about the hottie soccer player who laid the smack down last week. Some bad dudes and dudettes out in the desert.

“Joe is getting a liking to this government cheese” – Joe

Baylor @ Missouri -14
Maryland @ NC St. -6.5
Purdue @ Michigan -6.5
Okla St. -7 @ Iowa St.
BYU -14 @ Wyoming
Houston -1.5 @ Tulsa
USC -10 @ Arizona St.
Oklahoma -4.5 @ Nebraska
UTEP -6.5 @ Tulane

Stay Sweet – Love, Joe

Illinois +6.5 @ Minnesota
Teaser: Oklahoma St. -1 @ Iowa St : Northwestern +21 @ Iowa
Oregon St @ California -7
Kansas -2.5 @ Kansas St.
LSU @ Alabama Under 39.5
Wake Forest +14.5 @ Georgia Tech

Bonus $200 Teaser:
Syracuse +27 @ Pitt : Purdue +12.5 @ Michigan