Special Report by Fay Stoker
Las Vegas sports book John Provenzano or "Johnny Two Soups" as he's
known by close friends, has decided to get in on the 2008 Macworld
action this year by offering odds on the new Apple products that have
become lucrative business from rumors and speculation that add up to
capturing eyeballs online. Eyeballs that support big advertising
dollars for thousands of websites.
"I see the news on Bloomberg, Gizmodo and The New York Times, I figure there's gotta be some big action on Macworld predictions," said Provenzano, "I'm taking bets on the ultra-portable Macbook, an updated iPhone and even on that iTablet thingy which I think is a long shot. I know there's some greenbacks to be made on this Apple stuff."
Over the past few years Macworld speculation has become big business for Apple product launches and for the many tech sites that count on pre-conference hype to boost their readership. A newsworthy Macworld tip can bring in fifty thousand hits or more inside of a few hours. Last year the hottest Macworld hype was centered on the iPhone which turned out to be a game changing product for Apple in 2007. Websites were ablaze with iPhone tips, leaks and predictions prior to Macworld in 2007. Any posts including iPhone in the past six months have resulted in guaranteed hits for many tech sites. iPhone rumors offer greater potential for hits than even legitimate news stories do. This year the big Macworld rumors and speculation surround a slimmer ultra-portable Mac sub-notebook with a flash drive or even possibly a Newton II device dubbed the iTablet and an updated iPhone. Many are also expecting Jobs to confirm a 3G iPhone release later in 2008, but that's too far off to take action on according to Provenzano.
As the predictions and rumors heat up over the next few weeks Provenzano stands to haul in a nice chunk of change behind the hype. He claims he has over two hundred bets down already, most of them coming from his regular sports book crowd who see easy money in diversification with Apple. "Hey, I'm letting people put their money where their mouth is on Apple for 2008," said Provenzano, "Let's see who the real wise guys are when it's all over and which predictions are losers, I'm counting on those losers so I can win big. Get it?"
I decided to unload a few of my own Benjamins with Two Soups on the sub-notebook, I'm convinced that's one Apple prediction I can bet on. But before I finished my interview, I had to ask Provenzano how the nick name Johnny two soups came about. "This Thai restaurant we go to serves a tiny bowl of soup as an appetizer, it's a friggin' gorgeous soup, so I always angle for another bowl. The guys started chapping my ass about it, calling me Johnny two soups. The name stuck, simple as that."
Email Provenzano for odds and more info (twosoups@yahoo.com). Word on the street is he will direct you on how to proceed from there.
CNN Cashing In Photo: Johnny Two Soups at Crystal Palace Billiards
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