A Gambler's Tribute to an Ex-wife

Years ago when I lived in a small town named Sutersville, PA., pop 967, there was a small dairyette called Mondo's were everybody hung out. We liked the place because Mondo the owner, was a short barrel-chested Italian with gray hair and a happy disposition. He had a genuine liking of people and he would talk about anything under the sun - especially if somebody wanted to argue.

Now I am half-Italian, the other half being Yugoslavian, which is about as close to Russian as you can get. My maternal grandmother was born in the land of Gengus Khan. There were four thins in life that she couldn't do without: vodka, her husband Vassi who was the most skilled carpenter I ever met, a good argument -- and gambling.

I don't think anybody ever won an argument with my grandmother. She never used logic as one of her weapons to winning an argument She used passion.

It was my grandmother with a little help from my former wife who turned me on to one of the most powerful weapons a person can ever use when it comes to determining the outcome of a sports event, whether the event be a football game, horse race or any other event where gambling might be involved.

Now I have never tried to earn a living betting on sports. I enjoy making an occasional bet on a baseball or football game. And as members of this website know, I have wagered on horses or greyhound dogs when the mood strikes me.

But if I ever got really serious about sports betting, I know the approach I would take to finding the winner..

Body Language

Yep. Simple old body language will tell you which team or horse is likely to win the event Let me cite you a few examples to prove my point

My ex-wife, Nan, was a big fan of Alabama's Crimson Tide. Oh, how she loved to watch the Tide play.

At the start of the game, Nan would just sit there and enjoy the preliminaries. But once the game began, a transformation came over her that you had to see to believe.

We had a local bookie in town named Ernie. He owned a small grocery store in town that was just a front for his gambling activities. I remember being on Spring break when m mother sent me to town to buy a loaf of bread. I was studying journalism at Duquesne University and had forgotten about Ernie's unique status in my home town.

Instead of going to Babe's grocery store or the supermarket in West Newton three miles away, I walked into Ernie's. He was sitting at a table playing poker with three locals.

Ernie barely looked up when I approached him and asked where the bread was.

'Bread?,' said Ernie 'Bread? Hey, Kid, how long you been away at collee? You want bread or milk or apple sauce or any of that stuff, you go to the supermarket. You want to bet on a horse race, te Pirates, the Steelers, you come and see Ernie. I got no time for groceries'

'But it says Ernie's Grocery Store on the outside --'

Ernie dismissed me with a wave of the hand. 'Yeah, I know what it says. The only groceries I have on the premises is a package of moldy cream cheese on a shelf in the back room. Take your pick.'

I went to Babe's to buy the loaf of bread.

We were watching television in my parents' living room one day. Alabama was playing the University of Michigan and Nan was excted

'The Tide is going to kill them,' she said.

'I don't know about that,' I responded 'Michigan is favored by 10 points.'

Nan waved her hand. 'That doesn't mean a darn thing. Look at their faces. Those boys are out to win. There's no way they're going to let those damn Yankees beat them.'

Now my ex-wife was born in Cullman, AL., a small farming community near Birmingway. Her neighbors are straight-thinking, independent-minded people with a passion for Old Dixie and who aren't afraid to think for themselves

I looked at the Alabama football team sitting in the locker room, determined, charged up and ready to meet the University of Michigan squad on the field and I knew I had a winner.

I didn't just hurry down to Ernie's grocery store. I flew.

All I had on me was $100. 'I want to put this on Alabama,' I said firmly.

Ernie was mildly interested. He hadn't seen me this excited about anything since the day my dad and I had come back from hunting with two ringneck pheasants and four rabbits, our alloted quota for the day.

'You're sure you want to do this?,' he said 'That $100 bill looks like it's been reposing in your pocket for a lone time.'

Ernie knows the big words and sometimes he actually uses them in public, which is a pretty bold thing for a fellow in a small town to do, if you know what I mean.

'I'm sure'

The Crimson Tide won that day. They not only won, tey decimated the damn Yankees from Michigan 47-3.

From that day forth, I adopted the body language tool to my arsenal of weapons for beating the odds. And I can honestly attest to the fact that body language has been a factor in helping me win big bets on the NFL, MLB, poker and even cockfights in Mexico.

Nan and I have been divorced for many years. But wherever you are, Babe, thanks for the memories -- and thanks for the lesson on body language.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter. If you have a unique gambling story to share with him, you may qualify for a cash award. Send your story with all the details to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).