‘Amazing’ but true: Bettors knew who’d win the ‘Race’
By Sean L. McCarthy
Thursday, May 12, 2005 - Updated: 03:42 AM EST
Uchenna and Joyce Agu's Tuesday night victory on ``The Amazing Race'' shouldn't surprise anyone.
After all, offshore gambling site Sportsbook.com suspended online wagering for the CBS ``reality'' hit back in March when unidentified Boston and Los Angeles bettors flooded the site with $500 maximum bets overnight on the Houston couple.
``We know precisely who placed those bets,'' said Sportsbook.com's marketing director, Alex Czajkowski, by phone yesterday. ``But when a customer makes a bet with us, it's entirely confidential.''
The site honored the wagers - including those made in the 12-hour period of March 3-4. Czajkowski said CBS never contacted him to investigate the bets.
``CBS would barely acknowledge we exist,'' he said.
The network had no comment.
The seventh installment of the Emmy-winning ``Race'' was also its most-watched, with more than 16 million viewers tuning into Tuesday's finale.
It's not the first time insider information has skewed betting on a ``reality'' show: Because the show wraps months before it airs, there are some people out there who know the outcome. BetWWTS.com received suspiciously accurate bets for``The Apprentice,'' ``The Bachelor,'' ``Survivor: Amazon'' and ``Survivor: Pearl Islands.''
``You always run a risk with this `reality TV,' '' Czajkowski said. ``But they do garner a lot of attention, so we're happy to have that stuff on the site.''
Sportsbook.com also offers betting on other conversation starters.
http://theedge.bostonherald.com/tvNews/view.bg?articleid=82777 
