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May 25[edit]

Geman speakers[edit]

Is the following a reliable source: https://www.lvstprinzip.de ? 92.10.238.53 (talk) 14:21, 25 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

This is already being addressed at Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard#German. Ian.thomson (talk) 15:00, 25 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

"Runs paper for a bookmaker" - American[edit]

What does "runs paper for a bookmaker" mean? I know what a bookmaker is. DuncanHill (talk) 20:41, 25 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

From what I recall, the bets would be written on slips of paper. Betters would often hire kids to run those papers to the bookie. Thus "running paper". †dismas†|^(talk) 21:37, 25 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, a bookie's runner. That makes sense. DuncanHill (talk) 21:41, 25 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The usual term in the U.S. is (or was) "numbers runner". We have an article numbers game... AnonMoos (talk) 00:36, 26 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

What if the subject of the bets is (say) a football game, rather than numbers? —Tamfang (talk) 05:54, 27 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Most variety stores and barbershops ran "numbers" - too hard to work on "odds" or variable "point spreads." All you need is the NY Daily News and the tote total for Belmont, or the like. Collect (talk) 14:27, 27 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

And yet sports bookies seem to exist. Are you saying they don't have runners, because of the complication of variable odds? —Tamfang (talk) 22:37, 27 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I think he's saying that for the majority of the 20th century, the "numbers" was the most popular form of organized illegal gambling found among working-class and lower-class areas of U.S. cities... AnonMoos (talk) 02:47, 28 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]