2006 Gambling Story of the Year

[bigjimt]

We all have 'em. Great comeback wins... gut wrenching last second losses... hot streaks at the blackjack table... a one outer on the river to lose a monster pot.

I have been thinking about typing up my own story of the year since the people I have told it to verbally got so much enjoyment out of hearing it, but why stop there.

I want to hear your best gambling stories of 2006. I'll post mine when I'm done composing it. (HINT: It has something to do with my 32 pt special in the college bowl contest).

[bigjimt]

The Legend of the Rice Truck

So there I was, about to pull on to Rt 78 East heading to NJ for another (late arriving) Friday at the office. As I'm accelerating on the on ramp, an 18 wheeler with some kind of mural painted on the side goes flying by me so fast that I can't really make out what is painted on it.

After merging into traffic, I catch up to this truck a few miles up the road and pull in behind it. On the back in big silver and blue letters it says "Rice Owls Football". Now I'm confused. I really don't know where Rice University is but I know it isn't anywhere near the PA/NJ border. I start to think about who Rice could possibily be playing in this area of the country and then I remember, Army is/was affiliated with Conference USA and I'm pretty sure so is Rice so maybe they're headed up to West Point for a game Saturday. I could verify this if I had a copy of either team's schedule, which in my car I did not.

But look what's also painted on the back of the truck. Rice's 2006 football schedule. And what do you know they are playing Army tomorrow. After mentally patting myself on the back for figuring out why this truck was all the way out here I pull out around it and begin to pass.

At this point I start to wonder to myself if this is some kind of sign sent from above to in fact wager on Rice in tomorrow's game. As I'm contemplating this, I look out my passenger side window and in big silver letters the following words are spelled out "WE WILL WIN". Well, that's all the encouragement I need and I make a mental note to make at least a minimum wager on Rice over Army the next day.

So Saturday morning rolls around and I'm scanning the lines for the day's college football card and I come across the Rice@Army game. Army is a 10 pt favorite. Well, I know enough about Army to know that they shouldn't be a 10 point favorite to anyone so I decide instead of a minimum wager I'm going to make it a medium sized bet. Then remembering what was written on the side of the truck I decide to make a minimum play on Rice on the ML too. I put the plays in and then go to do some research on Rice to see how they can possibly be a 10 pt dog to Army. Here's what I found:

Sat, Sep 2 Houston L 30-31
Sat, Sep 9 at UCLA L 16-26
Sat, Sep 16 (8) Texas L 7-52
Sat, Sep 23 at (18) Florida State L 7-55

YIKES!!! Talk about pissing money away. Oh well, I mentally mark it as a loss and move on to watching games that are actually worthy of being televised.

Later that night I'm looking thru the scoreboard and I see Rice 48 Army 14 F WHAT??? I check the recap and the first line reads the following:

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) -- The day before a teammates' funeral, Rice beat Army 48-14 for its first victory of the season on Saturday.

So not only do I have a chance encounter with the Rice equipment truck, but they're playing for a fallen teammate. If this all doesn't scream Team of Destiny (even at 1-4) I don't know what does.

The next week rolls around and Rice is @ Tulane as a 1 pt favorite. Well it worked once so why not again this week. Well the results weren't so good as SMU won 38-24, but when I went to the recap this is what I saw:

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Lester Ricard threw for 344 yards and four touchdowns as Tulane beat Rice 38-24 on Saturday, winning its first game in the refurbished Louisiana Superdome since Hurricane Katrina.

Well what do you know. One week after the Saints completely dismantled the Falcons in their first game back at the Superdome, the same thing happened here. Even the Rice Truck is apparently no match for the outpouring of emotion involved with a team's return to the Superdome. I was disheartened but I was determined to give Rice one more chance. And boy am I glad I did.

I decided to repeat the pattern of taking Rice plus the points and on the ML as well (if they were underdogs) the rest of the way until they lost. Well, they have been underdogs in every game since the Tulane game and here how it has turned out.

Sat, Oct 14 (+5) vs UAB W 34-33*
Sat, Oct 21 (+6.5) at UCF W 40-29
Sat, Nov 4 (+10) at UTEP W 37-31
Sat, Nov 11 (+14) at Tulsa W 41-38**
Sat, Nov 18 (+3) vs East Carolina W 18-17***
Sat, Nov 25 (+2.5) vs Southern Methodist W 31-27

* Chase Clement threw a 9-yard touchdown pass with 3.5 seconds left to Jarett Dillard, his third touchdown catch of the game, to rally Rice to a 34-33 win over UAB

** Chase Clement threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jarett Dillard to lift Rice to a 41-38 double-overtime victory over Tulsa

*** Clark Fangmeier kicked a career-best 40-yard field goal with 3.1 seconds left to give Rice an 18-17 win over East Carolina

Each week the story was retold, each week the legend grew. Even when it appeared that Rice would lose but still cover, they did something miraculous to win the game outright. With me spewing the same mantra into the faces of the non-believers.



"It doesn't say "We Will Lose". It doesn't even say "We Will Cover". It clearly states "WE WILL WIN".

The Rice Truck is NEVER Wrong!!!"

[Pitt37]

Great Story!!!

[Gookis]

I feel like the guy in 40yr Old Virgin..."Wow, umm.......so many stories running through my head"

[steelersfan1203]

good read...thanks

[KR-V3]

i could tell you my stories, but most of them don't have happy endings!! bad beats are my specialty

[griswold]

That was a great story.

[bigjimt]

Guys - Thanks for all the kudos. Looks like I just picked the wrong day to post this with all of the Wayne1218 vs Linemover/Blake excitement.

i could tell you my stories, but most of them don't have happy endings!! bad beats are my specialty

KR-V3 (and all)-

Pick your best gambling story (good or bad) of the past year and post it here. Whether it be a learning experience or just entertainment value, I think this is something everyone can get something out of.

[frankb03]

Great story. thanks for sharing.

[Chado1]

DUDE I'M FUCKIN SPEECHLESS!!!

Honestly, that was one of the greatest stories I have ever read!!!

You should HONESTLY look in to becoming a writer because not only was that a good read but it was very well written!!!

[jcindaville]

DUDE I'M FUCKIN SPEECHLESS!!!

Honestly, that was one of the greatest stories I have ever read!!!

You should HONESTLY look in to becoming a writer because not only was that a good read but it was very well written!!!

ditto, nice write up

[ctt8410]

Technically, Tulane's first game back in the dome was against SMU. They lost that game. Beating Rice was just their first win in the Superdome. Good story, I've seen it floating around on a couple of message boards now.

[bigjimt]

Technically, Tulane's first game back in the dome was against SMU. They lost that game. Beating Rice was just their first win in the Superdome.

I came to realize this later, but after reading the recap, you can see why I originally thought it was their first game back in the Superdome.

Good story, I've seen it floating around on a couple of message boards now.

I've only posted this on one other board, and I know one friend who posted it on the Miami Scout board. If you've seen it anywhere else, please let me know.

[bwade210]

Very good read thanks!

[bigjimt]

Just want to say I appreciate all of the kudos that my story has received.

I'm still hoping to see stories from others as well.