Unusual Bets Over the Years

John Melendez of the Tonight Show had to pony up on his football bet to Kevin Eubanks and get his head shaved on live television. He looked less than thrilled to be going completely bald. In fact, he looked like he wanted to either punch the barber in the face or cry. If the New York Giants had beat the Eagles, Eubanks would have lost his moustache instead. I think the flowing-locked Melendez got the raw end of the deal. Eubanks should want to get rid of that 'stache.

But this is by far one of the more tame bets in history. In 2007, Scott Wiese of Decatur, IL pledged to legally change his name to Peyton Manning if the Bears lost to the Colts the Super Bowl. When the Colts actually won, Wiese made good on his bet by going down to the courthouse to start the legal proceedings. Fortunately, the judge banned him from doing so, stating that it would be too confusing and a possible infringement on the quarterback's privacy. Wiese didn't put up a fight and enjoyed being on numerous media outlets including ESPN.

In 1997, the eccentric Brian Zembic of Toronto won a $100,000 bet when he agreed to get breast implants for an entire year. Maxim Magazine even featured the C-cup wearing Zembic. But more than 10 years later, Zembic still has his front-end addition. He claims that he's gotten use to them and they've earned him several hundreds-of-thousands of dollars over the years in media appearances. Not to mention he's gotten paid to flash them in public. To date, Zembic has no current intentions of ever removing them and continues to take on strange bets. He also won a $15,000 bet to live in a men's restroom for an entire month.

In 2007, a man ran out of money during his poker game and bet his wife in the ante instead. It wasn't a wise bet. Andrei Karpov from Murmansk, Russia lost his wife to opponent Sergey Brodov. Karpov's wife, Tatiana, was so upset she divorced him and started up a relationship with Brodov, eventually marrying him. It doesn't seem to bother her that her new husband won her in a poker game.

In 2006, a Vietnam official confessed to losing about £4m in aid funding on a string of football bets. Bui Tien Dung, a general director of project management under Vietnam's Ministry of Transport, lost big. Over a month period, he placed bets for £180,000 on a Manchester United-Arsenal game, and £150,000 on a Barcelona-Real Betis game among many others. Apparently, he spent what winnings he had on his mistress.

It's hard to say what compels people to bet their hair, name, chest, and livelihood on various sports, dares, and poker games. At least in Zembic's case, he actually had physical control over the outcome of his bet. But in the world of sports, you never know who is going to win and have no way to alter that outcome. With the upcoming Super Bowl, there's sure to be more bizarre betting reports in the news. I'd put a bet on it.

http://www.nydailynews.com

http://www.herald-review.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Zembic

http://www.theregister.co.uk

http://www.independent.co.uk