Former Fiesta Bowl director pleads guilty

NCAA Football Betting Lines

02/21/2012 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The former longtime executive director of the Fiesta Bowl has pled guilty to a felony count of solicitation to commit fraud schemes.

John Junker, who was fired in March 2001 after a probe uncovered a scheme to reimburse improper political campaign contributions made by Fiesta Bowl employees, entered the plea in Maricopa County Superior Court on Tuesday.

Sentencing is set for April 26 in front of Judge Douglas Rayes.

Junker was long a prominent figure in college football and oversaw the Fiesta Bowl while it committed a wide range of infractions, including a scheme to pay back employees for at least $46,539 in campaign contributions, according to an investigation that uncovered a list of serious infractions.

Federal law prohibits reimbursement for federal campaign contributions.

The scandal cost Junker his job and prompted the Bowl Championship Series to fine the Fiesta Bowl $1 million, although it was allowed to remain in the BCS and keep its NCAA license.

The Fiesta Bowl was initially alerted by an employee who came forward to give information about the alleged misconduct. Its board of directors then formed an independent committee to investigate, resulting in a 276-page report with more than 1,500 footnotes.

In addition to the scheme to reimburse political contributions, the committee also found an apparent conspiracy to conceal the scheme from the Fiesta Bowl board of directors and state officials.

The probe also uncovered evidence of unauthorized and excessive compensation and non-business and inappropriate expenditures and gifts.

The board of directors, after reviewing the results of the five-month probe, voted unanimously to fire Junker for his role in the infractions uncovered.

Junker was found to have failed to cooperate with the investigation and had been placed on administrative leave more than a month before he was fired.

Former Fiesta Bowl chief operating officer Natalie Wisneski was indicted in November for making campaign contributions in someone else's name and filing false tax returns, among other counts.

She was also indicted by a federal grand jury for causing false statements to be made to the Federal Elections Commission and for conspiracy. She pled not guilty.

Wwwnasasportsbook NCAA Football Betting News

<< Dundee United thumps 10-man Kilmarnock
Dundee, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Daly converted a penalty for his 13th goal following the sending off of Liam Kelly and Dundee United rolled to a 4-0 win over short-handed Kilmarnock on Tuesday in the Scottish Premier League. Daly's

<< Almagro stays hot in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off his title in Sao Paulo last week, reigning Buenos Aires champion Nicolas Almagro continued his winning ways Tuesday with a first-round victory at the Copa Claro tennis event. The seco

<< Lightning acquire F Segal from Chicago
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday acquired forward Brandon Segal from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for forward Matt Fornataro. Segal, 28, has 11 goals and 22 points in 92 games over three NHL season

<< Rockies minor leaguer Torres suspended
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Rockies minor league pitcher Joseph Torres has been suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for a violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The 29-year-old Torres, w

<< Ichiro Suzuki to move out of leadoff spot
Peoria, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ichiro Suzuki has been in the leadoff spot for almost his entire 11 years with the Seattle Mariners, but that will not be the case this season. Mariners manager Eric Wedge announced Tuesday that Chone Figgi

Auburn's Fortner to resign at season's end >>
Auburn, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Auburn women's basketball coach Nell Fortner will resign as head coach at the end of the 2011-12 season, the university's director of athletics Jay Jacobs announced on Tuesday. Fortner has served as the te

Sporting, U.S. defender Onyewu suffers knee injury >>
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting Lisbon and U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu has suffered a torn ligament in his right knee and will be sidelined two months, the Portuguese club announced Tuesday. The 29-year-old Onyewu was injur

Ex-Brazil boss Luxemburgo to coach Gremio >>
Porto Alegre, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ex-Brazil coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo was named new boss of Gremio on Tuesday, one day after Caio Junior was fired. Luxemburgo will be officially introduced Thursday, when the 59-year-old will begin

Georgetown names Marino offensive coordinator >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Georgetown University football coach Kevin Kelly announced Tuesday that Vinny Marino has joined the staff as the offensive coordinator. Marino has 20 years of coaching experience, including the last six as

Pervak, Erakovic win in Memphis >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No. 2 seed Ksenia Pervak was an easy first- round winner Tuesday at the $220,000 Memphis International tennis event. The Russian Pervak handled Canadian Rebecca Marino 6-2, 6-4 on the indoor hardcourts

Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.


Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Why Sports Betting is so much fun?

Betting Sports

The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)

Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.

Future Bets

Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.

Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)

Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:

Types of Bets

Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.

Round Robin Betting

Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.