Monday, December 15, 2003

score another point for investigative entertainment journalism!

From CNN.com:
Did some have inside dope on 'Survivor'?

NEW YORK (AP) -- "Survivor" may have a security problem.

Before the first episode was even televised this season, more than 15 people from the Vancouver, British Columbia, area placed bets with an offshore bookie on contestant Sandra Diaz-Twine.

On Sunday night, Diaz-Twine was revealed as the winner during the show's season finale on CBS.

Suspicious that people were trying to profit from inside information, the Antigua-based bookmaker, BetWWTS.com, shut down "Survivor" betting back September. The company still paid out $40,000 on Monday -- from less than $5,000 in wagers -- to people who had gotten their bets in before it was stopped, said Simon Noble, the company's CEO.

Noble's company may now join other offshore bookmakers that he said shun "Survivor" because of fears of insider betting...
This is presented like it's something corrupt about Survivor. What does anyone expect? It's not even like CBS has some kind of legal obligation to try to keep the "Survivor" outcome secret. It's not like someone is pulling a Martha Stewart if they tell someone the outcome of Survivor and then that person takes some offshore-bookie's money who let's them place a bet on it. It's kinda amazing CBS manages to keep it as secret as they do.

I have no idea why people would bet (at least, bet serious cash) on something whose outcome is already known to some people in advance. One reason you have to go to some Antigua-based bookmaker to bet on "Survivor" is I don't think betting on it is even legal anywhere in the United States (I know it isn't legal in Las Vegas).

Besides, large parts of Survivor are likely rigged and/or fixed anyway, like every other reality TV show.

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