Rolling dice on sports

Here’s something to ponder as you try to figure out what you were thinking when you picked Chattanooga to upset UConn in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

It is one of the favorite pastimes in offices all across the country. No, not trying to figure out if you will survive the next wave of layoffs.

I’m talking about bracket madness. Just thinking about how much money changes hands in connection to the NCAA tournament is enough to take your breath away.

Now a New Jersey state legislator is looking to give something back. At least to the state’s coffers.

State Sen. Ray Lesniak, a Democrat from Union County, is filing suit to overturn a ban on sports betting. Right now you can make a legal wager on sports events only in four states: Nevada, Montana, Oregon and Delaware. And even though Delaware has the green light, they have not yet used it, although there are proposals to do just that.

Lesniak reasons that people are gambling anyhow, why shouldn’t the state step in, regulate it, and tax some of the proceeds.

It could be just the tonic New Jersey’s ailing casino industry needs.

Of course, sports leagues are not all that thrilled with the idea of having legalized betting hanging over their games.

Lesniak believes the move could raise as much as $100 million a year in revenue, while at the same time protecting existing jobs and creating some new ones.

Yeah, but does he have Villanova in the Final Four?

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