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$12 Billion Wagered On March Madness


March Madness has been coined the biggest sport betting event of the year.

According to Las Vegas-based sports-betting guru RJ Bell of Pregame.com, more than $12 billion is wagered on the NCAA basketball tournament.

That's $2 billion more than the Super Bowl.

The event alone attracts more than 100 million people around the world.

Forest Clark and his friends have been going to Pluckers for 10 years to watch the madness.

"We all take off work on Thursday and Friday. The Thursday tradition is at Pluckers and we meet up here for five or six hours and watch all of the games," Clark said.

He tells us he basis his bets off of gut instinct. He also hopes his favorite team, Duke, pulls through.

"We all put in $20 and the winner takes the pot," Clark said.

Others bet smaller amounts.

"$5 to $10 dollar brackets. Doing really well so far. Hoping my bracket doesn't break. But it's the NCAA," said Mario Bolton.

Austin Police Officer Veneza Bremner says betting is OK in Texas as long as the person collecting the money doesn't take a cut. If he or she does it could mean jail time or fines.

"It can range from a Class C misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor. You can also get into organized criminal activity that could become felons," said Bremner.

Most explain the bracket betting is all fun and games.

Some statistics show the odds of winning a perfect tourney is one in nine trillion. Still, some hope to cash in.

By Christie Post