Olive and Matt in Vegas. What happened there, stayed there.
  • Olive and Matt in Vegas. What happened there, stayed there.

The Mercury's Scientific Gambling Institute has embarked (sorry for the pun) on a mission to determine who is more reliable when it comes to sports gambling: man or pug. We were fortunate to secure gambling expert Matthew Slessler—his can't miss 5-star lock of the day: bet it all on the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA—as our human subject. His opponent, weighing in at a portly 17lbs., Olive the Pug.

Each contestant picked every single BCS bowl game—all 34 of them—and after the final game (the BCS championship on January 7th) we will declare a winner. Slessler picked the games using a complicated formula of spreads and shady insider tips, while Olive was presented with dual dog treats—her favorite brand—on a piece of paper marked with each college bowl team. The treat she devoured indicated her pick. 34 treats later, she is still hungry.

A true gambler at work.
  • A true gambler at work.

The bowl season starts tomorrow evening and we will post updates on how each gambler is progressing. Let's just say, I like the pug's chances.