VOA文化艺术2024--Super Bowl Expected to Set Betting Record, But Don’t Bet on Taylor Swift

Super Bowl Expected to Set Betting Record, But Don’t Bet on Taylor Swift

　　The gambling¹ industry expects this Sunday's Super Bowl game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers to smash betting records.

　　The American football game is the National Football League's championship game. The game is played in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the first time. The city is known for its casinos and places to gamble.

　　The American Gaming Association (AGA) said Tuesday that it expects Sunday's game to be the busiest ever for betting. The AGA says nearly 68 million American adults, or about one in four, will bet on the game.

　　For a long time, Las Vegas was the only American city that permitted sports gambling. After a 2018 decision by the Supreme² Court, sports gambling is now permitted in 38 states.

　　However, most of the Super Bowl bets will be made illegally, with people who take bets privately³, known as bookies.

　　The AGA estimates over $23 billion will be bet on the game this year but only $1.5 billion of the bets will be legal. Last year, the total number was $16 billion.

　　Chris Grove⁴ is with Eilers and Krejcik, a company that follows the gambling business. He said, "There's a good chance that every Super Bowl for the next ten or so years will be the most bet Super Bowl thanks to the underlying⁵ growth of ... sports betting in the U.S."

　　You can bet on all kinds of things in American casinos and through online sports betting apps and websites.

　　The easiest bet is on the winner of the game. About 47 percent of bettors think Kansas City will win, and 44 percent think San Francisco will win.

　　But there are other ways to bet, too. People can make a bet on the outcome of individual plays. For example, people can bet whether the play will result in a score, like a touchdown or a field goal. They can bet whether the offensive team can move the ball forward by only one or two meters. Or they can bet that the defensive⁶ team will take away the ball with an interception⁷.

　　But there is one thing you cannot legally bet on, at least at American casinos: if Taylor Swift will make it to the game and how many times she will appear on television. Swift has been at several Kansas City Chiefs games this year to cheer for her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, one of the team's best players.

　　Swift is performing in Japan on Saturday, February 10. Many expect the superstar to fly across the Pacific Ocean to get to the Super Bowl game a day later.

　　In the U.S., most legal bets are limited to what happens on the field. However, casinos and other gambling sites outside of the U.S. permit more wide-ranging bets. For example, it is possible to bet on the color of the Gatorade drink that will be dumped on the winning team's coach.

　　Other sites may permit people to guess how long the U.S. national song, the Star-Spangled Banner, will be. Reba McIntyre is performing the song before the game this year.

　　John Ewing works in public relations for BetMGM. He said it is better to permit bets on events that have a clear outcome.

　　"We want it to be either: it won or it didn't win," he said.

　　Words in This Story

　　bet –v. to put money or risk something on whether an action will happen, such as the outcome of a sporting event

　　championship –n. the highest award in a competition or sport that decides which person or team is best

　　casino –n. the physical building where betting happens

　　gamble –v. the act of playing a game of chance for money or placing a bet on an event

　　underlying –n. at the base, fundamental

　　touchdown –n. a way of scoring points in American football where the ball crosses the goal line either by running or a throw and catch – worth six points

　　interception –n. in American football, when a player from the opposing team catches a ball thrown in the air

　　coach –n. a person who teaches or trains an athlete

1 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

4 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

5 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

6 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

7 interception   

n.拦截；截击；截取；截住，截断；窃听

参考例句：

• Aerial photography can provide valuable information on precipitation, evapotraspiration, interception, and runoff. 航空摄影可提供有关降水量、蒸发蒸腾量、入渗和径流量的有价值的资料。
• Light interception and distribution in hedgerow orchards with different alleyway widths is indicated in Fig. 56. 图56显示篱壁果园不同行间宽度的光能截取和分配的情况。