As if it was prancing right through the finish of the Preakness and into the Belmont Stakes, Animal Kingdom will trample the field when it reaches New York for the final leg of the Triple Crown in a couple of weeks. After a slow start saw it fall behind all but one horse through the first couple of corners, the Kentucky Derby winner came on strong and nearly caught eventual winner Shackleford before finishing the race just a half-length back at the line. That has set the stage for a rematch between the Kentucky and Preakness winners, and although there will be no Triple Crown in 2011 the final leg should be just as exciting with this key matchup taking the spotlight.

The Belmont Stakes betting race will feature a ton of familiar faces, including both Nehro and Mucho Macho Man. Both of those horses placed at Kentucky, and should be primed for one final run of the season. However, although their presence will add to the atmosphere for the Belmont, this has developed into a two-horse race with the recent developments. Shackleford held on with a pretty consistent effort throughout the race, but with the Belmont at 1 ½ miles it may have a tough time holding on against Animal Kingdom. There will be a ton of chatter about whether the trifecta of strong online sports betting finishes can be completed, but in the end it will be Animal Kingdom that comes through and finishes in front at the 2011 Belmont.

PayPerHead.com, an online sportsbook service provider for local bookmaking agents, today unveiled a new campaign featuring Vince Curatola, Johnny Sack of The Sopranos fame.

The campaign leads with Vince asking “Five bucks per head, that’s what I wanna pay…” and the website, featuring video and voice overs by Vince, walks you through the product, the process and the competition.
“Five bucks a head is really an industry first given our level of service,” a spokesman from PayPerHead.com explained. “And we very carefully and in great detail delineate on the website exactly what you get and at what price level at PayPerHead versus the other serious players, such as Price Per Head.”

And what you get is a lot, including not only the traditional online sportsbook but an optional casino, live poker, in game live betting, mobile betting, tools for managing players and their funds, layoff and scalp accounts, even a “sharp check.” “We have the sharpest lines out there and one of the most experienced stages anywhere offshore,” the spokesman said, “so if we start seeing sharp action from one of your players, we can give you a heads up. What you want to do with him is up to you.”

The choice of Vince Curatola was an interesting one. “We always liked Vince’s character on The Sopranos, as John “Johnny Sack” Sacramoni,” the PayPerHead spokesman said. “He had a certain style, classy, but not over the top; there’s a calmness and authority about him that we really admire.  He brings that serious business demeanor to PayPerHead.com, the first sportsbook-service to EVER feature any kind of celebrity in its marketing.”
With post-up books like BetUS, Sportsbook.com and SportsInteraction stopping taking US players, Bodog and others struggling with “Ecom” processing problems, the street scene is heating up and players are posting daily in forums looking for a “local out.” Players want the huge selection of markets, including live in-game betting, and the convenience of anytime betting online or via their mobile, but more and more say “they want to bet online but prefer to settle in cash on Monday.”

Is this the future of online sports betting? Quite possibly. And with firms like PayPerHead.com investing in marketing in an unprecedented way (celebs, who’d have thunk it?!) and in product (they also offer live poker, casino and in-game betting), expect to see this sector grow significantly this season.

For more information, see PayPerHead.com.

The Butler Bulldogs turned heads in stunning fashion to reach the Final Four in 2010, and while those that projected them to fail in 2011 are quick to talk about how the glass slipper still fits, the truth is that they can no longer be considered a Cinderella team in this year’s Final Four. There are a couple of key reasons why the Bulldogs are a legitimate threat to win this tournament rather than just a compelling underdog story. First, Butler has won nine of ten NCAA national title tournament games since the opening of last year’s tournament, which is a better win percentage than any other team in the nation. Second, the team that they will face in the March Madness betting Final Four was a play-in that nobody expected would even make it to the tournament, and have upset a number of teams from bigger conferences including the top seed from their region in the Big 12 champion Kansas Jayhawks. The VCU Rams are this year’s Cinderella having beaten more teams than any other program in the Final Four, as the first team to have to win five games to reach the Final Four because of the extra round that was added to this year’s sports betting tournament when it was expanded to feature 68 teams. All but one of the Rams’ victories have been by double-digit totals, but that very well could come to an end against a Butler team that just knows how to win under pressure in the NCAA title tournament. The way the Madness has gone, it’s impossible to predict for sure which team will get through to the championship game. The only guarantee at this point is that the Bulldogs are not this year’s Cinderella team.

While the names may not be as big as in past events, UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch will feature plenty of action when the lights go down at this year’s sell-out Pay Per View. The Ultimate Fighting Championships return to Sydney, Australia for the second time, where the UFC Betting fans are as intense as any in the world, and won’t hesitate to let the sports betting promotion know if they aren’t satisfied with the show they watch. That won’t be a problem for this card, as former lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn and the reckless Jon Fitch headline a group of 10 absolute battlers.

Fitch has now won five straight fights since falling to current Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre with the title on the line back in August of 2008. All five victories have been decided by the judges, including his last win over Thiago Alves at UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen. The No. 2-ranked welterweight in the world will face another tough task against Penn, who has lost two of his past three bouts but both against Frankie Edgar with the UFC Lightweight championship on the line. Penn was once considered the best in the world at the welterweight and lightweight levels, holding both belts simultaneously, but will need to prove that he can still handle some of the best in the sports book promo business. The card will also feature other names such as Michael Bisping, and hometown favorite George Sotiropolous.

Super Bowl XLV betting lines will feature two of the biggest fan bases in the NFL’s history, Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers. For the first time in the last decade of Super Bowl betting history, the two finalists for the Vince Lombardi Trophy will be coming from the North divisions of their respective conferences.

On the one hand we have the Green Bay Packers, a team that hasn’t been to the Super Bowl final since 1997 when they defeated the New England Patriots.The Vince Lombardi Trophy itself is named after the legendary Packers Head Coach, who along with Bart Starr (the last Packer quarterback before Brett Favre) guided the Packers to victory for the first two Super Bowls. Throughout the franchises illustrious history, they have won 13 titles in total, and three Super Bowl rings. On Sunday, they will be looking for Super Bowl title number four and overall championship number 14.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers are also a very historic franchise. The Steelers have won more Super Bowls at six than any other franchise in the NFL. Pittsburgh’s most recent title win came in 2009 when they defeated the NFC West Champion Arizona Cardinals. What’s more, over the last five years, no team has had as much success as the Steelers as they won two of a possible five championships, with three different champions in between.

Green Bay and Pittsburgh will be facing off at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday February 6, 2011. The stadium will be able to fit the most fans in league history, at 105,000 while close to 150 million viewers will be watching the game on television.

Ultimately as we and our colleagues have assumed all week long, this game will come down to the quarterbacks. On paper, this game looks like a mismatch, as Aaron Rodgers has proven to be an elite quarterback, while Ben Roethlisberger is just a good quarterback. The last time these two teams met, Rodgers threw for 383 yards, while Roethlisberger threw for 503 and both had three touchdowns. If this game once again becomes a shootout, we’ll take our chances picking Rodgers, who threw for almost 4,000 yards this season.

Each year soccer betting handicappers are introduced to at least 100 youthful stars that have graduated from their respective football clubs youth programs and emerged as first string players. Of those 100s of online betting football stars, only a handful emerge as the next big thing in the soccer world. Here are two footballers we believe will be household names in a couple of years.

1. Romelu Lukaku – Dubbed by many football experts as the second coming of Chelsea Blues striker Didier Drogba, Romelu Lukaku at 17 years of age is the best product to come out of Belgium in quite some time. Although he has yet to play a game on the elite level, teams such as Arsenal, Manchester City and Real Madrid have all been rumored to be inquiring about the talented striker’s services.

Lukaku is a scoring machine, as during the 2009/10 season he led the Jupiler Pro League with 15 goals while finishing up high school. What’s more already this season, playing for Belgian squad RSC Anderlecht, Lukaku has 10 goals.

2. Danny Welbeck – This choice for the next big thing is a little bit of a cop out, as Welbeck is already playing elite level football. Originally brought up in the Manchester United youth program, Welbeck has been on loan all season to Premier League rival Sunderland. In 20 games thus far, Welbeck has scored only six goals, but at 20 years of age, that’s not a bad thing.

Although he is out on loan with Sunderland, Welbeck has all the potential in the world to be a cornerstone of the Manchester United Red Devils for years to come. Along with Wayne Rooney, Berbatov and Hernandez, Welbeck is in fine company at Manchester United.

On Monday, many online sportsbooks wasted no time updating their Super Bowl betting odds. With four teams remaining the odds on several teams jumped dramatically as football betting handicappers from around the world were forced to alter their original picks. Here is a look at the updated odds and which team the sportsbooks believe has the best shot at a Super Bowl title.

Similar to the favorites in this Sunday’s NFL Conference Championship games, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers have the best remaining Super Bowl winning odds. The Steelers opened up this week as two to one favorites as they are expected to destroy the New York Jets en route to their third Super Bowl victory in the last six years. Meanwhile, despite clinching the final wild card spot in week 17 of the regular season the Green Bay Packers opened up this week as seven to five favorites to win the biggest game of them all.

However, it should be noted that seven to five odds have become the kiss of death odds for Super Bowl Contenders. For instance, the New England Patriots were seven to five favorites to win the Super Bowl before facing the and losing to the New York Jets in the divisional round of the playoffs.With the Green Bay Packers facing divisional rival the Chicago Bears and their five to one odds, the Packers may become the second victim of seven to five odds resulting in a loss.

Last but certainly not least is the NFL’s youngest remaining team in the playoffs, as the New York Jets have the third best odds of winning the Super Bowl. The Jets opened up as 40 to one favorites a few short weeks ago, and now they are three to one favorites. With upsets over the Colts and Patriots to start the playoffs, is it too much to believe that the Jets may knock off the Pittsburgh Steelers en route to the Super Bowl?

Poker and sports betting are two popular entertainment pastimes with little in common on the surface. However, some similarities and comparisons can be drawn. Here are a few characteristics that poker and sports betting share.

Both Poker and Sports Betting Can Be Enjoyed Online

Both poker and sports betting lend themselves to online action. The combination of the Internet and poker or sports betting is particularly nice because it brings these gaming options to those who might not otherwise have access to them, because there is no sportsbook or casino in their area. It also allows players to see quickly and easily the bets that they want to make and can make note taking and money management easier.

Both Poker and Sports Betting Involve Risk

Obviously, both poker and sports betting are types of gambling. You risk a certain amount for the shot at a commensurate reward. The trick in both poker and sports betting, and in fact in any kind of gambling, is to make sure that you have an edge, so that the results are not quite as random for you as they are for others. In this way, even if you lose in the short term, you can come out ahead in the end.

Both Poker and Sports Betting Are Stimulating

There’s a good reason why millions of people flock to poker rooms and sportsbooks every year, whether they win or they lose. It’s exciting. The idea of instantly winning money as a result of your own (hopefully correct) decisions is a thrilling one. The adrenaline rush from watching or participating in an event with serious money on the line is difficult to compare. This is one of the great things about poker and sports betting, but it is also one of the most dangerous. If you have an addictive personality, you need to be very careful about how much time you devote to poker or betting on sports. It’s a good idea to participate in these activities with a level headed friend, who can keep you grounded and on track if you should start to go astray.

Throughout the long illustrious history of sports betting fans and gamblers alike have been witness to some of the greatest rivalries both team and individually. For the online betting enthusiast who likes to wager a little bit extra when a rivalry game takes place, here are three rivalries you should consider.

1.     Manny Pacquiao v Floyd Mayweather Jr. – Perhaps the best rivalry of the decade, Pacquiao and Mayweather have not actually faced each other. Over the last few years, both boxers have established themselves as the best in the world. The question fans of both fighters and boxing fans in general wonder is who exactly is the best fighter in the world?

From what we can tell, Manny Pacquiao in recent time has taken on much tougher opponents, but Mayweather has a fiercer repertoire. Never the less, when this fight does eventually happen, it may go down as the biggest draw in boxing history. The two fighter’s average 1 million paper view buys for their individual fights, but when they meet up expect that number to triple.

2.      Montreal Canadiens v Toronto Maple Leafs – The rivalry that made hockey Canada’s game, Montreal and Toronto have hated each other since the 1930s. Initially when there were only six teams in the NHL, Montreal and Toronto was the main divide in Canada. The French Canadiens loved Montreal while the English speaking Canadiens followed the Leafs.

Overall, Montreal is the better team as it has won the most Stanley Cups in league history, while Toronto has been plagued without a Stanley Cup for several decades. In recent time, the Leafs have struggled mightily while Montreal had its dream run almost come to fruition during the 2009-2010 season.

3.     Duke Blue Devils v North Carolina Tar Heels – The ACC NCAA basketball division has long been considered a two horse conference. While the other schools in the conference are coming around, the two schools to dominate the ACC since it was established are Duke and North Carolina. Add the fact these schools are located in the same state and only differ by one championship, and you have one if not the best rivalry in sports.

World Cup betting players don’t have to deal with free agency, and even if they did, it’s arguable that they wouldn’t have a class like the NBA will have this summer when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and others will be on the market.

Wade said that he would speaking to James, as well as Joe Johnson, before making his decision, and this is similar to the conversations that led to this point between James, Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony, who decided to sign three-year contracts so they could test the market (Anthony has since signed an extension).  James and Wade on the same team would be epic, but with both being used to being the alpha dog on their team, and still being in the prime of their careers, it’s tough to see something like that working.

This is where the likes of Johnson and Bosh will come into play.  These two are very good All-Star players, but the consensus is that you’re not going to win a championship with either as your No.1 guy.  So essentially, it seems like Wade is lobbying for Johnson to be his wingman, which would be good as his outside shooting would stretch the defense for Wade.  Bosh, on the other hand, has already said that he would be waiting to see what the top dogs do.

This is shaping up to be the most interesting summer in NBA history, and whoever the big winner is, they can expect to see their sports betting odds improve significantly.