‘Oh yeah? Ya wanna bet? I’ll bet my dad can beat up your dad.” I’ll bet I heard that kind of talk as a kid a million times in The Bronx school yards before it came to blows. We learned to bet and gamble early in the city back then in the 1950s. Heck, life itself is a crapshoot so they say. You’re dealt your hand, and you play it the best way you know how. You win some, you lose some, and some get rained out. (The Sox are losing way too much this year.) I get my gambling fix each day when I take my life in my hands and get behind the wheel of my car.
Our elected officials in Massachusetts just made sports betting legal in the state. Before I give you my opinion on the matter (it is the opinion page after all) I’d like to share a few experiences on the subject during my 77-plus years on the planet. My opinion might just surprise you.
Let’s face it, gambling on sporting events has existed since the first shot was put in the first Olympiad.
In the early 1950s, my dad was greatly disappointed upon learning of the City College of New York basketball point shaving scandal. With college kids today facing smothering debt, I can’t help but wonder how some might react to a “free tuition” offer. On the pro level, as a 10- year-old I was watching a Knicks game with my dad on TV and the Knicks were winning by a wide margin for a change. With seconds to go, one of the New York players tossed the ball into his own basket. I uttered, “It must be the point spread.” My astonished dad looked at his jaded grade schooler in disbelief. To repeat, we learned early on the city streets. “Say it ain’t so Joe” — need I mention the Black Sox scandal of 1919?
Below is one of many personal experiences I’ve had. I was warming up for a high school alumni soccer game with other alums, and a guy I didn’t know announced that his dad had a horse in the second at Roosevelt that night that was fixed to win. I said if I had won half the tips I had gotten I’d already be a millionaire. He said, “It’s a lock.” After the game, (we lost) a bunch of us hopped in a car and got on the Long Island “Expressway.” True to its name it was a “parking lot.” We just made it, put down our money, won, and hightailed it out of there.
Massachusetts residents have been betting on sporting events since Feb. 6, 1788 when it became a state with their own “personal contact” or more recently online. Now our legislators have decided that they want to be our bookie. And why not? With the added take in the state coffers they can raise their own salaries. A guy I know on the street corner (we’ll call him Angie for this piece — since that’s his name!) has been making book for a long time and he’s not at all concerned with the competition. I won’t go into all the reasons why here as I don’t want to be accused of corrupting the 10-year-olds reading this and are leading a sheltered life. I’m sure most of them are knowledgeable already anyway. I’ll just mention one pertinent analogy which I recently came across in the news. Fifty-eight percent of marijuana sold in Massachusetts is sold illegally.
I have a few more suggestions on how the state can get involved in the gambling business. I would like to be able to bet on my kids’ grade school field day events. The 3-legged race and the egg and spoon event could yield a lot of excitement. That way we could get the kids involved early, not to mention that I would have a confidant in the action. We could let the kids bet their allowance and paper route cash.
Another long term activity would be to bet on when Massachusetts can get a choo choo train from Springfield to Boston.
We also could let the government take book on when we die. Ooops, they already do so by setting Social Security regulations. I have many more suggestions in case you’re interested like betting on the weather.
As promised, here is my opinion on the matter, and I will reluctantly share it with you. I only hope that it won’t affect my bottom line. Yes, by all means, allow state sponsored sports betting (and all sorts of gambling) in Massachusetts. I will share with you how you can be a winner every minute of every day. Don’t bet. You see, each time someone bets on the lottery, for example, I win. Their money goes into the State Treasury and reduces my tax burden. When I’m in line at the convenience store, I thank all the patrons ahead of me for buying lottery tickets. I want to give a special thanks to all of you out there who bought extra tickets during the recent Mega Millions scam.
I just wanted to put my 2 cents in — and not a penny more.
Jonathan Kahane lives in Westhampton.