Friends and family plan on holding Super Bowl betting games

Many Blair Super Bowl viewers will play low-stakes betting games with friends and family during the game.

The games vary in rules, but all involve making predictions on the outcomes of the quarters or the end of the game. Junior Michael Benfield will hold a low-stakes game where there is one winner who takes the entire pot.

"Whoever guesses the winning team and has the closest prediction to the actual score wins,” he says.

Benfield predicts that around 20 people will come to play this year. With each bet costing $5, the pot will be $100.

Junior Stephen Demarais, who will bet in Benfield's pool, says that betting on the Super Bowl makes the game more interesting. In a culminating game that rarely includes teams that he cares about, the friendly betting game makes the Super Bowl more enjoyable for Demarais. "It adds a little excitement to the game,” he explains.

According to Demarais, the game makes each touchdown, extra point and field goal more exciting to watch. "This year, it's going to be a blow out, so we're not waiting to see who will win,” he says. Instead, he will be anxious to see the outcome of each individual play.

Junior Joe Lorenz will play a similarly low-stakes game, although his pays off at each quarter and double at the end.

The system of Lorenz's game involves a 10-by-10 grid with the numbers zero through nine printed, in random order, all across the top and then again down the side. The players then buy as many of the 100 boxes as they want. At the end of a quarter, the score is recorded. The last digit in each team's score will correspond to one of numbers around the grid, Patriots on top and Eagles down the side. Whoever owns the box where the column and row meets wins for that quarter.

"Everyone buys a box for about $.25 each, and that goes in the kitty,” says Lorenz. "Then, whoever guesses correctly wins a portion of the kitty.” Whoever guesses the final score correctly wins double the normal amount. By this system, the winnings for each of the first three quarters would be $5 and the final prize $10.

Lorenz gathers together and plays with his immediate family, including his brother, freshman Peter Lorenz and cousins, aunts, uncles and family friends.