Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 12:27 PM
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Tal PinchTagged as: Wall Street Journal, Sports, Football, Fantasy Football, Sports Gambling, Poker, Daniel Negreanu, Raj Rajaratnam
Fantasy Football Stakes Get Higher. A Lot Higher
When it comes to the escapist madness that is fantasy football, we thought we wouldn't see stakes much higher than the $5,000 buy-in implemented in the Las Vegas auction league featuring big-time poker pros like Daniel Negreanu, Gavin Smith, and Erick Lindgren. Considering the passion for fantasy among this crew known for throwing several thousand dollars at prop bets practically every day, this probably wasn't even the only league they entered. Negreanu in particular is known for competing in leagues that draft 16-year old prospects. But the Wall Street Journal has uncovered a separate league that puts these Vegas sports-book rats to shame.
The league has existed since about 2002 and pays its top three finishers $1 million in prizes. How does a league pay out $1 million? Quite easily, considering league participants include many of the scions of Wall Street. That includes all-star hedge fund figure Paul Tudor Jones (net worth $2.5 billion), Boston Celtics part-owner Jim Pallotta, and Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam (net worth $1.8 billion).
The 10-team league is based primarily in New York and has been making rumblings around Wall Street for the past couple of years, particularly now that most of the people gossiping have fallen on tough times. The $100,000 buy-in certainly shames the $5,000 Vegas game, but the $600,000 first-place prize tends to justify the expense, assuming you know your pro football.
Of course, all the winnings are donated to charity. Rajaratnam, who won in 2004, donated his winnings to tsunami relief. Spots in the league are sparse but do pop up every once in a while. League founder Stanley Druckenmiller, for example, left the league last year to submit a bid to buy the Pittsburgh Steelers and play real-life fantasy football. He was replaced by John Griffin, the manager over at Blue Ridge Capital. You?ll need someone to drop out of the league and open a spot before you get any consideration in what looks to be the world's highest-stakes fantasy football league. In the Vegas league?s defense, they have a post-draft party at the Palms.
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Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 6:18 PM
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Tal PinchTagged as: Harlem Globetrotters, Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, Texas Stadium, Sports, Basketball, Football
Neiman Marcus Christmas Book Forces Us to Choose Between Sports Fantasies
While the majority of its pages showcase women's apparel we?re happy to blindly buy for certain significant others, the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book actually features a few fantasy men?s gifts, least of which is the custom-made Guinness pub we've already profiled. But there are two particular sports gifts available through the book that force us to make a difficult choice.
Let?s start with the positive, and it doesn't get any more positive than the fabulous, barrier-breaking, Sweet Georgia Brown magic of the Harlem Globetrotters (whose offices are actually now located in Arizona, but whatever). For $110,000, you?ll earn the incredible opportunity to showcase your crossover on the hardwood alongside the world's favorite non-NBA basketball team.
The package includes a personalized Globetrotters uniform (which almost justifies the expense by itself), a special introduction and full access with the team. It also guarantees playing time in a 2008-2009 Trotters game. We hope it's against the legendary Washington Generals. Most of all, the team's history will forever read ?Chamberlain, Lemon, Curly, and you.
Tempting as that Neiman Marcus item is, there?s another fantastic gift up for grabs that brings out our dark side just a little. Always wanted to pull a T.O. and dance on the Dallas Cowboys star after schooling the ?Boys backfield at Texas Stadium? Like any New York sports fan, our answer is an unequivocal YES! Now you can, sort of. For all the fans who?ve been practicing their cabbage patch for just such an occasion, the same book offers the entire Cowboys? end zone from the soon-to-be-abandoned Texas Stadium for $500,000.
Along with the end zone, the price tag also includes an invite to the Cowboys' last home game at Texas Stadium, where you?ll sit in a luxury suite alongside team owner Jerry Jones. You?ll also be invited to opening night at the new stadium and receive memorabilia from Cowboys legends. Combine all these goodies with the fact that Jones is donating the money to the Salvation Army and you just may come to respect the Cowboys.
Given the choice, we'd probably go with the Globetrotters cameo, but keep in mind that with that Texas Stadium end zone stuck quaintly in your backyard (or in a particularly massive Manhattan loft), you'll quickly remember where your loyalties lie.
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Posted on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 1:26 PM
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Tal PinchTagged as: Super Bowl, Football, NFL, Travel, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The NFL season is about to begin, which means it's time to start planning that all-important Super Bowl trip. The bad news is that the big game is in Tampa this year, which we're willing to overlook because, hey, it's the Super Bowl. Having looked around for the odd package, the finest we've managed to find so far is courtesy of Premiere Sports Travel.
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Posted on Friday, September 5, 2008 at 9:42 AM
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Tal PinchTagged as: Football, Sports, Stadium, Seattle Seahawks, Suites, NFL, Qwest Field, Access, Football Frills
Seahawks owner Paul Allen didn't become one of the world's richest people by making dumb decisions. He started by building a nice stadium in Seattle that was acoustically designed to help generate so much crowd noise that playing against the Seahawks in Seattle has become one of the hardest tasks in football. But aside from the crowd noise, Qwest Field also boasts some pretty nice suites and single-game suite packages that provide a lot more than just free beer.
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Posted on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 9:24 AM
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Tal PinchTagged as: Football Frills, Football, NFL, Sports, Kansas City Chiefs, Stadium, Luxury
Since making some much-needed renovations last year, Arrowhead Stadium has gone from a historic (if outdated) stadium to one of the NFL's most fun venues. One of the standout features at Chiefs games since the renovation has been their Golden Circle Suites. Located in the exclusive Club Level and providing some of the top views of the game, the suites come completely furnished with the requisite bar and catering courtesy of Levy Restaurants. What sets Arrowhead apart is the access to different VIP venues before, during, and after the game.
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