We're trying to improve Conversations.
Please take a brief survey and help us out.

The Insider: Rise of the pick 'em

By Chad Millman
ESPN The Magazine

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

This column appears in the September 21 issue of ESPN The Magazine. In the fall of 2006, Margaret Hamblin, then 73, was tending bar at the Lake Elsinore Elks Lodge in Wildomar, Calif. For kicks, the grandmother and Cari Gardner, a waitress at the lodge, organized a Monday Night Football pool. Ten people, five bucks each. Winner take all -- the whole $50 pot. They should have raised the stakes. Agents from the state's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, acting on a hot tip, quickly ...

Read full story | Create Your Profile

Activate your ESPN Profile!

Sort comments by: Most Recent | First Posted

Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.


Conversations in Real-Time

CONTESTS & PROMOTIONS

ESPN Fantasy Salary Cap
Create your own fantasy game day living room and win BIG!
Heisman Vote 2009
Vote for the next Heisman winner and enter for a chance to win a trip to the awards show. Mor
Engineered to Win Challenge
Test your football smarts by playing NFL trivia and enter each week for a chance to win a 2010 GMC Sierra.