World’s Wackiest Wagers Ever Placed - Part 1

Approximately 40 years ago a man named David Threlfall wagered 10 pounds British Sterling that a man would set foot on the moon before January 1st, 1970. Acclaimed betting firm, William Hill, gave Threlfall 1000 to 1 odds against this event occurring before the said deadline. With astronaut Neil Armstrong's historic declaration, "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind," David Threfall became £10,000 richer. Unfortunately for Mr. Threfall, he subsequently killed himself by crashing the sports car he purchased with his winnings. Armstrong's lunar landing - it turned out - was just the beginning of numerous loony wagers to come.

Skylab is falling! Skylab is falling!
In another out-of-this-world-wager, in 1979, Las Vegas gaming pioneer and proprietor of the El Cortez Hotel, Jackie Gaughan, raised a proposition on where precisely Skylab, the falling 77-ton US space satellite, would crash on earth. Gaughan posted 5 to 1 odds for locations around the globe, including specific countries and regions, as well as the 5 oceans. One gambler placed a $2000 bet with 12 to 1 odds that Skylab would crash in what was then the USSR. Other odds included 100 to 1 for California, or 2000 to 1 for the little State of Rhode Island. Gaughan even offered 10,000 to 1 odds that the falling satellite would smash into his El Cortez Hotel. In the end, Skylab landed in Australia; a 30 to 1 bet.

Who shot down S.R.'s proposition?
In 1980, Sonny Reizner, a sportsbook manager at the old Castaways Hotel grabbed the interest of gamblers by propositioning them to bet on what was on everybody's minds at the time; "Who shot J.R.?" The question related to the fictitious murder of oil magnate J.R. Ewing, the star of the hugely popular American television series, Dallas. Reizner not only quoted odds for each character on the show, in his attempt to pass the contest off as a sports bet, Reizner even listed Tom Landry, the Dallas Cowboys' football coach, as one of the possible murder suspects. Days later, the Gaming Control Board ordered Reizner to remove the wager and refund all the money staked, citing the fact that someone had to be in possession of the show's script, thus knowing in advance how the show would unfold.

Thinking outside the box
A year after Sonny Reizner's famous "Who shot J.R.?" contest, Johnny Quinn, the late sportsbook manager at Vegas' Union Plaza, proposed a perhaps even more outlandish offer: With all of the nonstop controversy surrounding the murder of President John F. Kennedy, coupled by the grave of alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald about to be exhumed, Quinn raised a proposition on whose body officials would discover inside the casket? Quinn offered odds on whether the body buried was that of Oswald's, Jack Ruby (Oswald's killer), a Russian agent, or no one. After only a few wagers were placed, the Gaming Control Board killed Quinn's proposition.


After the exhumation, it was discovered that, athough Oswald's coffin was damaged due to an apparent leak, it is believed it was indeed his body inside the box.

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