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Legendary sports bettor Lester "Lem" Banker has made his Super Bowl pick.
And Lem likes the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And not just to cover the pointspread.
He likes them to win the game outright!
Lem on Sunday told a New Orleans newspaper, The Times-Picayune, his Super Bowl XLV selection: "I like Pittsburgh and the points. In fact, I like the Steelers to win straight up. You're welcome to do the same.''
Lem then told the paper his reasoning for his pick: "I think the quarterbacks are dead even. I like Pittsburgh because of their running backs.
"I remember what the great Jim Brown once said, that the mark of a great running back comes down to one thing, the ability to break tackles.
"The Steelers have more than a slight edge in that department, especially with that guy Rashard Mendenhall."
Lem's annual Super Bowl pick is anxiously waited for by the public every year, as he is said to be one of the best professional sports gamblers in the country when it comes to handicapping the NFL's championship game.
A story about Banker in the New York Times some time back said he once picked the pointspread winner of the Super Bowl 13 years in a row.
(Or as they say in Super Bowl-speak, Lem picked XIII winners in a row.)
Lem last year picked the underdog New Orleans Saints to cover the spread in the Super Bowl when most money was on the favored Indianapolis Colts.
The Saints won the game outright.
For this year's Super Bowl, which will be played next Sunday in Dallas, the Green Bay Packers are favored at most sportsbooks by 2.5 points over Pittsburgh.
By Tom Somach
Gambling911.com Staff Writer
tomsomach@yahoo.com
