ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL? AND GAMBLING?

USGS announcement from Day 126 of the Lower Puna Eruption:

KILAUEA VOLCANO (VNUM #332010)
19°25'16" N 155°17'13" W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

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The National Football League season starts tomorrow with the Atlanta Falcons visiting the Philadelphia Eagles.  Most of the rest of the teams pair off on Sunday, with two games on Monday.  

Some betting numbers:

• The team with the best Vegas odds to win the super bowl is the New England Patriots at 7/1.  
• Favorite to win most valuable player award is Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay at +500.
• Nick Foles, who will start for the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday is at +12500.  Injured Eagles QB Carson Wentz, though, is rated at #2 with +700.

What do those odds mean? I've had several postings providing instruction.  First, go to the right column and scroll down to ODDS CALCULATOR.  It should be self explanatory, but if not, click on one of my articles.  For example, Nick Foles' (left) chances of winning the MVP Award would be one in 125, which you get by typing in +12500 in the box for American Odds, then clicking on Convert, while that of Aaron Rodgers is one in 5, by typing in +500.

How big is sports betting?  NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says that ILLEGAL sports betting amounts to $400 billion/year, about 100 times more than what is legally bet on sports/year in Las Vegas.  That is $1700/American adult/year, or 2% of the entire economy.  Another way of looking at this is that sportsbook sites in Nevada earned around $250 million off $4.8 billion wagered in 2017.   However, careful analysis indicates that the $400 billion figure is exaggerated, but not by too much.  Compare that with this report:  in the U.S., gambling (casinos, etc.) in 2016 was a $240 billion/year industry, employing 1.7 million in 40 states.

In 2017 the three sports most bet on were #1 soccer, #2 football and #3 basketball.  The U.S. top three in order are football, basketball and baseball.  In Europe:  soccer, tennis and basketball.  You'd never be able to guess which country does the most betting horse racing.  Well, it is Japan, with the U.S. #2 and China #3.

While whales come from the all parts of the world, Macao looked particularly promising, for Chinese whales were legendary.  The first American casino, the Sands Macao, opened in 2004.  In 2006 Las Vegas and Macao showed similar gambling revenues.  Here, a table comparing Las Vegas with Macao (2016):

                                             Las Vegas   Macao

Population                             612,167   640,174

Gross Gaming Revenue         $11 B      $28 B

Visitor Volume                        43 M       30 M

Average Visitor Budget          $619        $250

Most Popular Game                slots      baccarat

Casinos                                    104          49

Hotels                                        68          75

Gambling Taxes                       30%        0%

Table Minimums                       $3          $36

Smoking and drinking            okay    no alcohol

Finally, my interest is not betting but fantasy.  I drafted four ESPN NFL teams.  Cost?  Zero.  Of course, you also win nothing if you do well.  The larger problem is the time wasted watching those games on TV and once/week adjusting your teams.  Once you get used to the concept, next year you can try a fantasy league where you pay money to win money.

Interested?  Do this today before the first game tomorrow.  Click on ESPN Fantasy Football.  Under ROOM NAME, click on whichever league you wish to join, depending on DRAFT TYPE, the LEAGUE FORMAT of your preference, and the DRAFT TIME.  Then click on Join This League.  It should be self-explanatory on what next to do.   But if you screw up, just abandon the team and do it again.  You will not be fined or scolded.  After a couple of attempts, you should be able to figure everything out yourself.  Good luck.

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Jebi is now a tropical storm and headed for landfall over Russia:

Gordon never attained hurricane strength, and is now a tropical depression:

Hurricane Florence in the Atlantic is at a powerful 127 MPH and headed in the general direction of the Bermuda.  Math models have the path towards the U.S.

No hurricane has yet to make landfall over the U.S. yet.  Florence?

Hurricane Norman is at 115 MPH and still sort of heading for Hawaii.  A northerly turn is expected just about now.  But...what if...

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