In Lubbock, Texas, the Texas Tech Red Raiders men’s basketball team is having one of its best college basketball seasons to date. In a few days the Kansas Jayhawks will come to town, the Big 12 juggernaut that’s captured 14 straight conference titles, but the Red Raiders may stand in the way of 15. Lubbockites are as excited to bet on their Red Raiders as they are to watch Saturday’s game. This is, however, despite the current status of sports betting in Texas. It’s not legal, but it’s not difficult — at all — for Lubbock residents to find a way to place a wager.
Standing in line early Saturday afternoon to get into Texas Tech students’ favorite bar, Chimy’s Cerveceria, it took only three sips of a margarita before overhearing students boast about their recent sports betting endeavors. One student who had hit a five-team parlay on NBA games the night before vowed to buy his crew the first round of shots with his newfound wealth, saying he’d put the rest on Texas Tech -5.5 later that night. It was still seven hours before the big game would tip off.