Bet on TV contests!

‘Dancing With Stars,’ ‘Idol’ could be next wagers

THAT ABC-TV show with famous people tangoing with professionals might soon have to be called “Dancing With the Spread.”

The age of betting on TV competitions might soon be upon us.

Just imagine people wagering a C-note on who’ll hit the right notes and win “American Idol.” Or betting next week’s paycheck on whether Kryssie Ridolfi will be evicted from the “Big Brother” house before Danielle Lickey.

Last year, people in New Jersey were allowed to start placing bets on sporting events, thanks to a favorable ruling by the Supreme Court. And that privilege was extended to betting on the Oscars that will be given out Sunday at the Academy Awards ceremony.

The other day, I spoke by phone with Johnny Avello, director of race and sports operations for Draft-Kings, which is the biggest legal betting operation in Jersey.

And Avello had some stunning predictions about the future of gambling, including the possibility that I just mentioned — betting on TV contests before the outcome is decided and known. (Sorry, “The Bachelor” fans, that show is taped — so no dice.)

“We are just getting started. As long as [something] can be fun and nobody knows the outcome,” betting can take place, according to Avello.

Of course, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement would have to give its approvals. But the state seems revenue-hungry. So right now, the best bet (sticking with the theme in this column) is that anything goes, maybe even wagering on the next presidential election.

You might even be betting on who’ll be the next chairman of your town school board. Hell, let’s bet on everything!

Right now, Avello (and everyone else in Jersey and Vegas, where Avello is headquartered) is paying attention to the Oscar betting.

Avello makes the odds for DraftKings — and he’s got “Roma,” just like everyone else, as a one-to-three favorite. That means if you bet $3 on “Roma” to win Best Picture, you get $4 back — a $1 profit.

He says he’s got “Roma” on top because everyone is calling it a masterpiece. But it’s not a shoo-in, and an upset could emerge.

Although nobody has been able to legally bet on the Oscars until now, Avello says he’s been publicizing his choices in all categories just for the fun of it. And Avello says he’s right 78 percent of the time.

Are people excited about Oscar betting? “It’s been slow. But things like this are always slow leading up to the event,” says Avello. “It will be busy Saturday and Sunday.”

Avello says people just don’t like to tie up their money. Not me, I put $5 on “Bohemian Rhapsody” to win Best Picture more than a week ago and haven’t regretted it.

The people who smoke dope aren’t necessarily dopes.

I hate to poop on New Jersey’s pot party, but I have a question: Why would anyone buy legal marijuana when the state is planning to place a $42-an-ounce tax on the stuff ?

You probably heard that Jersey is about to legalize marijuana so that adults can buy it for recreational use. It’ll be just like booze, which anyone over 21 in the state can purchase. Only difference is the state doesn’t tax liquor as onerously as it will pot.

There’s a 12-cents-a-gallon tax on beer in Jersey and 85.7 cents a gallon on wine. Hard liquor is taxed at $5.50 a gallon.

But Trenton wants pot smokers to pay an extra $42 an ounce for the privilege of buying legal marijuana. Doesn’t the state have anyone working for it who knows anything about marketing a product and competitive pricing?

Keep in mind, people who don’t want to pay the liquor tax can’t really find someone with a moonshine still in a backyard and buy booze illegally. At least, they can’t find a still operator very easily — even in rural Jersey.

Sure, grandpa may be making some wine in his cellar. And crazy Uncle Lou might have received a beer-making kit for Christmas. But, by and large, there isn’t much of an underground business in spirits.

But marijuana sellers are all over the place. I don’t know where they are, and you probably don’t either. But people who want a joint knew how to get one long before Gov.

Murphy gave his OK. Here’s my position on marijuana use, and it comes from previous columns I’ve written. (I didn’t just fall in line with the latest desperate taxation trend.)

I’ve written that I thought mari- juana should be allowed for medical use. Anyone who doesn’t agree with that, I feel, is inhumane and — I’ll say it — an idiot who has never known someone who is truly in pain.

And I wrote four years ago — without even a smirk — that pot use should be allowed near the Atlantic City casinos as a way to draw in business to that desperate city.

People laughed and thought I was joking.

Then, suddenly, Jersey decided it’s going to legalize pot smoking all over the state. My idea was radical a few years ago and now it’s quaint, even backward. Back to the money issue. The Web site PriceofWeed.com says that high quality marijuana — the illegal kind — will set you back $400 an ounce in Neptune, NJ, and only $160 an ounce in Jackson, NJ. So anyone who wants to ride on the Six Flags coasters should wait to get near the amusement park before making a purchase.

I don’t have any idea what the legal weed will sell for. But this much is clear: Whatever the price turns out to be, there will a $42an-ounce tax tacked on.

Why would anybody buy the legal stuff ? That’s especially true since having marijuana in your possession will be legal. At that sort of markup for the legal stuff, the street dealers are not only going to stay in business but also prosper. So once pot becomes legal in New Jersey — and the state is insisting on its hefty cut of the action — are the cops really going to haul anyone into court for having a few marijuana plants amongst the cucumbers and squash in a home garden?

I don’t think so. And I think Jersey is going to experience some reefer madness once its marijuana tax scheme doesn’t work out quite as planned.