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It's Jenny Woo versus President Barack Obama in the Final Four. Whose Final Four picks will reign supreme?
"I may have voted for Obama, but I'm going to beat him in this March Madness race," the Gambling911.com reporter proclaimed. "Bring it on!"
The U.S. President, a diehard basketball fan, released his Final Four picks this week.
"I like UNC, Louisville, UConn and Duke," Woo declared. "Just like President Obama, I think that Louisville will play against UNC in the final and the Tar Heels will win."
In all, the president is taking few risks when it comes to his Final Four teams: Louisville, Pittsburgh, and North Carolina are all No. 1 seeds, while Memphis is seeded No. 2. But the picks are sure to anger the state of Connecticut, whose Huskies are the only No. 1 seed Obama doesn't have going to the final four.
The president is also not picking an upset many observers have predicted he has No. 12 Arizona falling to No. 5 Utah in the first round. But the decision has nothing to do with the fact Obama battled a senator from Arizona for the presidency last year, he assured ESPN.
"It has nothing to do with McCain I think Arizona is a great state: I love playing golf there. But they just squeaked in based on reputation," Obama said.
Gambling.com expects this year's tournament-related traffic to be double their totals of last year.Some $12 billion was expected to be bet over the course of this March Madness, nearly $11 billion of that online.
Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, is looking to have legislation passed that would essentially legalize and tax online gambling in the United States in order that next year's March Madness betting revenue is more beneficial to the national economy.
"I think if we do this right we should make online gaming legal and subject it to a reasonable taxation like anything else," Congressman Frank told Gambling911.com. "This does not conflict to our effort to stimulate the economy. This isn't bad for the economy."
The issue of legalized online gambling is bipartisan.
Staunch conservative Republican Congressman, Ron Paul, in a sit down interview with Woo this week, also reiterated his stance that online gambling prohibition should be abolished.
"I just don't see government being the moralist deciding how we spend our time whether is good or bad," he said.
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
