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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
5 of the Most Bizarre Gambles You Can Make — And 2 Bets That Paid Off Big
Las Vegas is known as a city where anything can happen, and that's particularly true when it comes to gambling, whether or not you win big and end up wealthy. Check Out: Try This: Casinos are notorious for offering endless types of creative wagers that are designed to stimulate more 'action' from the betting public. In most cases, the odds on these bizarre wagers heavily favor the house, but that doesn't prevent gamblers from taking their shot on these so-called 'proposition' bets. For those willing to take a chance in the online world, even more outlandish proposition bets are available. Here's a sample of some of the strangest wagers you can make in Las Vegas — and elsewhere — along with some famous examples of gamblers who hit it big taking a chance on an obscure bet. And if you happen to come into a windfall, from gambling or otherwise, avoid these disastrous financial mistakes. Believe it or not, Las Vegas sportsbooks have regulations and are generally only permitted to offer wagers on statistically verifiable events. Some of the most popular — especially for the Super Bowl — include the following: Which team will score first What the first scoring play will be Which team will call the first timeout Although some of these bets are technically 50/50 propositions — like which team will score first or call the first timeout — Vegas sportsbooks typically shave the line in their favor and/or charge vigorish. Also known as the 'juice,' the vig often requires you to put up $105 or $110 to win $100 on proposition bets such as these. Find Out: Some of the most obscure wagers are not available at Las Vegas sportsbooks — but that doesn't make them any less popular. One of the most popular bets on the Super Bowl is the over/under for the national anthem. While certainly a frivolous wager, it's a quite popular one. According to The New York Times, as written, the national anthem should be sung in just 79 seconds. But as the Super Bowl is as much a performance stage for the artist singing the national anthem as it is for the football players, that time is usually extended. In fact, from 2014 through 2024, seven of 11 performers broke the two-minute mark. Perhaps that is why online sportsbooks set the line for Jon Batiste's 2025 performance at 120.5 seconds. And how did the artist do? Over bettors must have been exceedingly disappointed that the performance officially came in at 120 seconds on the nose, John Ewing of BetMGM announced in an X post. As random as the time of the national anthem is as a wager, it's far from alone in terms of odd Super Bowl bets. In recent years, a popular proposition wager at some online casinos has been which color of Gatorade will get dumped on the winning coach at the end of the game. Various regulations prevented major Las Vegas casinos from accepting wagers on who would become the next pope. However, this didn't stop bettors from wagering over $40 million online as to the identity of the next Pontiff, according to CNBC Make It. And for some bettors, this was a highly profitable speculation. Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost was listed at 100-1 before he assumed the title of Pope Leo XIV, garnering at least two bettors more than $50,000 in profits, according to the New York Post. Las Vegas resident Brian Zembic bet a friend $100,000 that he would get 38C breast implants and keep them for at least one year. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Zembic not only collected on his wager 366 days after he made it, he still has the breast implants to this day. More From GOBankingRates 5 Cities You Need To Consider If You're Retiring in 2025 This article originally appeared on 5 of the Most Bizarre Gambles You Can Make — And 2 Bets That Paid Off Big
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
A huge Democratic victory in Omaha offers a lesson for the party
For the last several months, the Trump administration's reckless use of executive power, trade policy, gutting federal agencies, and defying court orders has gone largely unchecked. National Democrats have limited means of opposition – so the best hope for accountability will be electoral accountability. This may help explain why last Tuesday's election results in America's 41st biggest city generated such outsized excitement from progressives. John Ewing Jr, a longtime county treasurer, was elected the first Black mayor of Omaha, defeating the incumbent Jean Stothert, who was seeking a fourth term after holding that office since 2013. More than that, Ewing won big, by nearly 13 points, marking a huge shift after Stothert won her last race by 30. Ewing ran a substantive, highly localized campaign that built upon decades of credibility he earned as a public servant – supplemented by the longstanding work of the Nebraska Democratic party to build coalitions in a traditionally deep-red state. In swinging this race by 43 points, they have both inspired hope that the political winds may be shifting, and provided a model for Democrats to succeed in 2026 and beyond. The results in Omaha are meaningful not for the scale of the city, but for how it may reflect the country as a whole. Omaha's congressional seat – Nebraska's second – is a true swing district, one of only three in the country that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 while also electing a Republican to Congress. It's a diverse, medium-sized, midwestern city – and if that isn't enough to convey its heartland status, it's nearly in the geographic center of the contiguous United States. For all of these reasons, it's instructive for Democrats to understand the strategy of the chair of the Nebraska Democratic party, who now serves as president of the Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC) and a DNC vice-chair: Jane Kleeb. In a moment when so much media attention has been focused on internal procedural drama surrounding certain other vice-chairs, Kleeb and the Nebraska Democratic party have continued their longstanding focus on the day-to-day work. In the waning days of the Omaha mayoral election, Stothert attempted to negatively polarize voters against Ewing by nationalizing the race – and, in particular, hammering the GOP's favorite wedge issue target of late: trans people. As my colleague John Nichols wrote about last week for the Nation, this did not work. Instead, Ewing refused to take the bait and kept his focus on tangible municipal issues – such as housing, street paving and even a struggling streetcar project. In a simple graphic released three days before the election, the Nebraska Democratic party proudly declared: 'Jean is focused on potties. John is focused on fixing potholes.' As thousands of Democrats across the country seek election up and down the ballot in 2026, they too could decline to debate on Republican terms and instead run campaigns relentlessly focused on improving their constituents' lives. Successful as this campaign was, it also builds upon statewide efforts from the Nebraska Democratic party to compete in unfavorable territory. Kleeb has long advocated for Democrats to perform direct outreach to rural voters – and it's not the same thing as pandering. Instead, it means recognizing real problems that, say, farmers are experiencing and offering practical solutions. In her words: 'In rural and small towns we may not use the word 'climate change' in the first five sentences, but everything we're doing is talking about protecting the land and water.' And progressives in Nebraska know a thing or two about the value of avoiding toxic political labels. When the navy veteran, mechanic, and union leader Dan Osborn ran a populist, independent campaign for Senate last year, the Nebraska Democratic party stepped aside and chose not to run a candidate. While Osborn and the state party had their differences – and he ultimately lost – this unorthodox strategy showed serious upside. Osborn came closer to defeating the incumbent Republican than any other challenger in the 2024 cycle; now he's looking at a 2026 run in much more favorable circumstances. With lessons to learn from the success in Nebraska, it is encouraging that Kleeb now holds a prominent leadership position in the national Democratic party – the same role that Ken Martin held before he became chair. As head of the ASDC, Kleeb is well positioned to work with all 50 state chairs to get them the resources they need – and it will be all 50, as she and the DNC recently announced that the national organization will be contributing more to state parties as part of a re-emerging 50 state strategy. But even if Kleeb's ascendance only meant that the Democratic party got better at competing in Nebraska, it could prove decisive. Given that the House is currently held by Republicans by a handful of seats (give or take whatever disgraced resignations happen between now and next November), the race in Nebraska's second district could very well be the tipping point for control of the lower chamber. Representative Don Bacon, who held on to his seat by less than 2 points last cycle, may well retire before he has a chance to lose. Whether the race for Congress in 2026 comes down to Omaha itself or someplace like it, Democratic victories will depend on a nationwide effort to invest as deeply in local concerns as Kleeb and Ewing have. That strategy can be summed up with a mantra that Kleeb has repeated time and time again – what you may call Jane's refrain: 'When we organize everywhere, we can win anywhere!' Katrina vanden Heuvel is editorial director and publisher of the Nation, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and she has contributed to the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Democrat mayor ousts Republican in historic win
A Democrat mayor has been elected in Nebraska's biggest city for the first time in more than a decade. The former Republican stronghold of Omaha has turned blue after John Ewing Jr. unseated Jean Stothert, who has held the post since 2013. Omaha's mayoral race revolved around local issues like street repairs and garbage service as well as national, hot-button issues such as President Donald Trump's administration and transgender rights. Stothert (pictured) was trailing by nearly 5,000 votes in early returns Tuesday night. At her election night event, Stothert said she called Ewing and conceded in the race, KETV reported. 'I called John Ewing and I congratulated him,' Stothert said. 'John Ewing is inheriting tonight a great city, and we leave a strong foundation for the city that we love. We are grateful and we are hopeful.' The winner will lead Nebraska's largest city, which makes up nearly a quarter of the state's population with more than 480,000 residents. In campaigning for a fourth term, Stothert has portrayed Omaha as a city on a hot streak with a revitalized riverfront, plans moving ahead on a streetcar line and progress repairing city streets. 'I have plans and can talk about them, and they are working,' Stothert told the Omaha World-Herald. If reelected, she would have the longest tenure as mayor in more than a century. Ewing, the county treasurer, said the mayor hasn't focused enough attention on core issues like filling potholes, hiring more police officers and building more affordable housing. 'People just feel like she's had her time, and it's time for somebody new,' Ewing said. Despite a focus on bread-and-butter issues like city services, the candidates have issued more partisan messages as the election neared. A Stothert TV ad says, 'Ewing stands with radicals who want to allow boys in girls' sports.' Ewing responded that he hasn't dealt with such transgender issues as treasurer and told KETV he wouldn't respond to hypothetical questions. Ewing has aired ads that connect Stothert to the Trump administration, showing the mayor on a split screen with Trump and saying 'Let's say no to the chaos and elect a mayor who will actually get things done.' Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page and hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Biggest city in deep red state elects first Democrat mayor in more than a decade
A Democrat mayor has been elected in Nebraska 's biggest city for the first time in more than a decade. The former Republican stronghold of Omaha has turned blue after John Ewing Jr. unseated Jean Stothert, who has held the post since 2013. Ewing's victory also marks the first time a black mayor has been elected in the Midwestern city, which is often pivotal in presidential elections. He stands in stark contrast to Nebraska's wider political lineup, comprising Republican Governor Jim Pillen, and Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts. Omaha's mayoral race revolved around local issues like street repairs and garbage service as well as national, hot-button issues such as President Donald Trump 's administration and transgender rights. Stothert was trailing by nearly 5,000 votes in early returns Tuesday night. At her election night event, Stothert said she called Ewing and conceded in the race, KETV reported. 'I called John Ewing and I congratulated him,' Stothert said. 'John Ewing is inheriting tonight a great city, and we leave a strong foundation for the city that we love. We are grateful and we are hopeful.' The winner will lead Nebraska's largest city, which makes up nearly a quarter of the state's population with more than 480,000 residents. In campaigning for a fourth term, Stothert has portrayed Omaha as a city on a hot streak with a revitalized riverfront, plans moving ahead on a streetcar line and progress repairing city streets. 'I have plans and can talk about them, and they are working,' Stothert told the Omaha World-Herald. If reelected, she would have the longest tenure as mayor in more than a century. Ewing, the county treasurer, said the mayor hasn't focused enough attention on core issues like filling potholes, hiring more police officers and building more affordable housing. 'People just feel like she's had her time, and it's time for somebody new,' Ewing said. Although the mayor's office is nonpartisan, the candidates have made it clear to voters that Stothert is a Republican and Ewing is a Democrat. Omaha is among the few spots in conservative Nebraska where Democrats have a reasonable chance of winning elected offices. Despite a focus on bread-and-butter issues like city services, the candidates have issued more partisan messages as the election neared. A Stothert TV ad says, 'Ewing stands with radicals who want to allow boys in girls' sports.' Ewing responded that he hasn't dealt with such transgender issues as treasurer and told KETV he wouldn't respond to hypothetical questions. Ewing has aired ads that connect Stothert to the Trump administration, showing the mayor on a split screen with Trump and saying 'Let's say no to the chaos and elect a mayor who will actually get things done.'
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wednesday's Campaign Round-Up, 5.14.25: Democrat wins upset in Omaha's mayoral race
Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country. * In Nebraska, Omaha's three-term Republican mayor, Jean Stothert, lost her re-election bid to Democrat John Ewing. The unexpected result means that Nebraska's largest city will soon have its first Black mayor. * There was a state Senate special election in Oklahoma this week, which the Republican candidate won easily, as expected. Similarly, there was a state House special election in Massachusetts this week, which the Democrat candidate won easily, as expected. * Last fall, Republican Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona faced a very tough challenge from Democrat Amish Shah, and this week, Shah announced that he's seeking a rematch in the 2026 midterm elections. * Ahead of a townhall event in Iowa, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg acknowledged that he will 'assess' a possible 2028 presidential campaign in the coming months, making comments that probably won't surprise anyone. * Completing a process that took several months too long, Allison Riggs was finally sworn in this week as the newest justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court. The Democratic jurist narrowly defeated her Republican rival last fall, but a drawn-out legal fight delayed Riggs' ascension to the office to which she was elected. * Several months ago, former Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump appeared interested in being appointed to one of Florida's U.S. Senate seats. This week, Axios reported that the presidential daughter-in-law 'hasn't ruled out' a possible GOP primary campaign against incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis in North Carolina. * And while this might seem difficult to believe, disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich told The New York Times he's considering a possible U.S. Senate candidacy next year in his home state of Illinois. Blagojevich — who served as a Democrat but received a controversial presidential pardon from Donald Trump a few months ago — did not say which party's nomination he might seek. This article was originally published on
