Everyone loves a bet, eh? So for the first installment of Weird Wagers, we’re all about death…

No 1: William Hill tells the tale of a deluded hermit in a small town in Venezuela, who challenged villagers to thinking he could hypnotise a jaguar. Unsurprisingly, he was savaged to death.

No 2: One poor Paulo Romero Cedero, an Ecuadorian refugee, claimed ‘abuse on the high seas’ back in Aug 2006. He recounted a grim tale of being soaked in fish blood by the crew of his aunt’s ship (loving family) and thrown overboard and bets were taken as to whether he would be eaten by sharks. He survived – just.

No 3: Prior to the shocking death of Princess Diana, Jeff Carter, a keen gambler from Ogle had a dream of the passing of the princess. Bookmakers would not allow a straight bet on her death, but offered him a royal accumulator, with a payout of a cool £1m on the successful sequencing of four royal deaths (Princess Diana, then Princess Margaret, Queen Mum and then the Queen herself). Only the queen remains, meaning that as long as there are no premature deaths of her offspring, he looks set to pick up his fat cheque.

No 4: Arther Robinson, a 91 year old pensioner bet £500 that he would die by a certain date to cover his inheritance tax bill of £3000. This was the first betting on death that William Hill bookmakers allowed, claiming he put a valid case forward. Sadly for Arther he lost his bet, but news was his wife was pleased.

No 5: In Nov 2006, James Quick (42) was charged with murder after shooting his friend Richard Johnson over a $20 bet they had on an annual college rivalry game. His friend’s wife and several friends told police that Johnson, prior to being shot, had exclaimed “You can’t shoot me, I’m invisible.” Unfortunately for Johnson, he wasn’t.

No 6: Celebrity death pool www.cash4cadavers.com takes sixth spot, where teams pay $20 dollars to enter and pick 20 celebs they feel will snuff it in the next year. Those with the most points at the end of the year, wins the pot.

Check back soon for the next installment of weird wagers…

Seated at the blackjack table, a player and the dealer were arguing about whether dealers should receive tips.The player’s argument was this: “If I get bad cards and complain you say it’s not your fault. So if I get good cards it can’t be anything to do with you either! So why should I tip you?”

The dealer replied, “When you go to a restaurant, do you give the waiter tips?”

“Yes” replied the player.

“He serves you food, and I serve you cards. You tip him so you should tip me.”

The player smiled, and looked at his cards which totaled fourteen.

“Fine! The waiter gives me what I ask for. I’ll take a seven please!”

Craps is considered one of the most glamorous of the casino games, with visions of James Bond and pretty perky ladies kissing the dice for luck. You may be new to the game, but here’s a craps etiquette guide that I doubt anyone would have revealed to you before… whatever you do, never ever do these at the craps table.

1. Take the name of the craps table literally.

2. Shout “what the puck?” if you lose. It’s not original – it’s been done before.

3. Snigger at the Come Bet.

4. Snigger at the Don’t Come Bet (that’s even more childish …).

5. Offer the dealer a tip like “never eat yellow snow”.

6. Take a “Don’t Pass” or “Don’t Come” bet off the table – any muppet knows there’s more chance of rolling a 7 than any other number.

7. Force someone to kiss the dice, especially if you’ve not washed your hands after going to the toilet.

8. Bet a Pass Line and a Don’t Pass bet – that just shows you’re stupid.

9. Go off with the girl who looks like she’s from the bond movies. She probably a prostitute and not as cheap as she looks.

10.Copy this joke just to win your wager.

(1995) Starring Nicholas Cage and Elisabeth Shue

Directed by Mike Figgis

Plot: Alcoholic screenwriter Ben Anderson moves to Las Vegas to die. His wife and son have abandoned him due to his drinking, and he is fired from his job. As he spirals deeper in the world of vice, he meets prostitute Sera and they move in together. As their relationship grows, Sera tries to alter their future by getting Ben on the straight and narrow against the backdrop of the worlds biggest gambling city.

Review: Set in the seedier side of Vegas, this is a gritty and realistic film which is not for the faint hearted. There’s very little casino action, and Vegas is merely the backdrop; the bright lights and slot machines are always apparent. When it first came out it was seen as rather harrowing, but it was an Oscar winner, and it also received 25 other film awards and 17 nominations. Definitely one to watch, but with the main character’s demise its more likely to get you thirsting for the casino tables than a beer.

Are there any football fans out there watching the Tottenham versus Slavia Prague game tomorrow? If you’re not a fan of either team, but you are a fan of casinos, you might want to take a sneaky peek at the match. Why? Well, you’ll see us there! Casino.com is infiltrating the LED boards at White Hart Lane and its going to be good.

 For those of you that are interested, the game stars at 19:45 UK time and is being shown on ITV4 from 19:00. We’ll have some funky animations on the LED boards for part of the match – take a look and let us know what you think!