Word: vigorish
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...most erotic and satisfying night of sex I had ever had, and as she lay in my arms afterward, relaxed and fulfilled, I wondered exactly how Fate was going to extract its inevitable dues. Would I soon go blind? Or become a paraplegic? What hideous vigorish would Harold Cohen be forced to pony up so the cosmos might continue in its harmonious rounds...
Fire Sale. Small businessmen who need to borrow to keep going at all are increasingly turning to underworld loan sharks for credit, reports Ralph Salerno, chief rackets investigator for the district attorney of Queens County in New York City. The "vigorish," or interest rate, on these loans makes the bank prime look like a fire-sale bargain: $300 on $1,000 borrowed for 13 weeks, or 120% a year; $150 a week on a $5,000 loan, or 156% a year. The loan sharks are sophisticated operators who keep close tab on the legitimate money markets and often cite...
Bookies' Vigorish. For every one of them, the crucial number is the point spread. Bets on most other sports are based on traditional odds. Football books always quote a point spread designed to be large enough to attract some bettors to the underdog, yet tight enough to be a hedge for the bookies if the favorite has had a bad day. For the Super Bowl, Dolphin fans who put down their bets early will collect only if their team wins by six points or more. A Viking bet will pay off if Minnesota manages to lose by fewer than...
...trouble. He's flown out to Las Vegas and he's signed $18,000 worth of markers. He doesn't have the money. Digger's immediate problem is the Greek. It is the Greek who must collect the $18,000 plus $400 a week vigorish. He's tough, of course, but the idea of twisting the Digger's arm gives him cold sweats...
...everything from nags to numbers, pinochle to pinball machines.* Everybody wants a piece of the action, including the politicians. In 1964, New Hampshire became the first state in this century to legalize a lottery, followed this year by New York. But even the most unscrupulous bookies, whose average "vigorish" (profit margin) is 10%, would blush at New York's 70% lottery rake-off. The fact that state lottery tickets are sold in the marbled halls of New York financial institutions is too much for some people. Texas' Wright Patman, chairman of the House Banking Committee, sponsored a bill...