2006 year in review: Disappearing gamblers to the closing of the Stardust

They took it literally
Professional gambler Alan Boston was physically attacked on the Strip in January by two assailants wielding a heavy object while he was on his way to participate in a sports handicapping contest. The name of the contest was "Beat Boston."

If my column suddenly disappears, you'll know why

A 46-year-old Wyoming man decided to head for the hills -- literally -- after losing a $40,000 bet on the Super Bowl. Marvin Hackworth of Gillette, Wyo., staged his own disappearance in the rugged Bighorn Mountains in north-central Wyoming the day after the Super Bowl, according to an Associated Press report. Hackworth told his wife he was leaving to "clear his head" after losing the bet. Search and rescue teams spent two days looking for Hackworth, who was later found in Nebraska. He had stashed a pickup truck in the mountains so he could "disappear for a while" in case he lost the bet, police said.

Gambling book ultimately folds due to use of fictitious names

When Howard Schwartz, the esteemed proprietor of the Gambler's Book Shop on South 11th Street, showed me an advance copy of "The Smart Money" earlier this year, he predicted the book would leave some readers frustrated and confused.

Referring to the author's rampant use of fictitious names in the supposed work of nonfiction, Schwartz cited the old Butch Cassidy line: "Who are those guys?"

Indeed, bettors, bookies, oddsmakers, poker players, offshore sports books and their stateside representatives, betting line services, a couple of Hollywood actors and even gambling-oriented Web sites get the faux, faux, faux treatment in "The Smart Money" (subtitled "How the World's Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions").