The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The WAGER Vol. 5(38) - Fall Classics: Streaks, Odds, and Outcomes

As the boys of summer aggressively slide into the fall playoff races, gambling baseball fans across the country will use this opportunity to step up to the plate and bet on their favorite team to win it all. In spite of it being illegal outside of Nevada, this fall ritual is common to major league baseball's playoff season, as are some betting misconceptions. Betting on the significance of streaks is one such example. According to Gordon Wood (1992), streak effects are not significant predictors of game outcome. As such, bets on teams with specific positive or negative streaks may be... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 5(37) - Olympic "Games"

The action at the Olympic Games in Australia has heated up and, presumably, so has the gambling action as well. Gaming among indigenous cultures is no exception, and may be increasing among the indigenous peoples of Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. While the economic benefits of gambling in general remain undetermined, the benefits to impoverished areas within the United States have been recognized (National Research Council, 1999). A good example of how gambling can advance an economy is Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. The economic benefits of gambling for the poorer areas of the United States might also... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 5(36) - Boat of Dreams

When the Iowa farmer in the Hollywood movie, "Field of Dreams," inspired by a voice from the sky that said, "If you build it, he will come," built a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield, Shoeless Joe Jackson and others came to play ball. The investors in the casino boat Midnight Gambler had no such luck. They had leased the 108-foot casino boat with high hopes that it would sail from Provincetown, Massachusetts every day, filled with eager gamblers. Even though the priest at the town's annual Blessing of the Fleet sanctified the Midnight Gambler, it went belly-up... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 5(35) - Shifting Paradigms and Defining Conventional Wisdom

In scientific research, much of what we observe is a function of how we define it. Years ago, Burke fashioned an outstanding television series and a book (Burke, 1985) on this very concept. In his book, Burke noted the following: "When we observe nature we see what we want to see, according to what we believe we know about it at the time. Nature is disordered, powerful and chaotic, and through fear of the chaos we impose system on it. We abhor complexity, and seek to simplify things whenever we can by whatever means we have at hand. We need... Read more →