Last night the March Madness betting world took center stage, as the Butler Bulldogs took on the Connecticut Huskies. In a league plagued by schools being suspended, it was a nice sports betting surprise to see the Connecticut Huskies a team on probation walk away as NCAA March Madness champions. Here is a recap.

On Monday April 4, 2011 the college basketball betting world, was disgusted at the final. In what can best be described as one of the most boring games in NCAA history, the Connecticut Huskies defeated the Butler Bulldogs by a score of 53 – 41. The game went well under the total predicted, as both teams put on a defensive clinic. In fact, overall the Butler Bulldogs emerged as a team we always knew they were, a pretender. During the game, the Bulldogs shot 18 percent overall, and despite leading after the first half 22 – 19, never really were in the game.

The second half of the game was all about the Connecticut Huskies, in terms of scoring ability and just flat out being the better school. There is no betonline.com scam, Connecticut normally plays in the Big East Conference, and going into the Final Four this past weekend, they were the only one of 11 Big East qualifying teams to have made it past the Sweet 16.

During the game last night, the Connecticut Huskies showed the world that despite being put on probation for illegal recruiting tactics, Jim Calhoun similar to Mike Krzyzewski in the 2010 Butler v Duke final is a far superior Head Coach to Brad Stevens. Connecticut also showed that playing in a much tougher conference all season and then region in the March Madness tournament, gave them the fortitude to perform at a high level. The victory for Connecticut is bittersweet going into the offseason, as Kemba Walker is headed to the NBA draft, and Jim Calhoun is headed for a suspension for the aforementioned illegal recruiting tactics.

PayPerHead.com, an online sportsbook service provider for local agents, today unveiled a new campaign featuring Vince Curatola, Johnny Sack of The Sopranos fame.

The campaign leads with Vince asking “Five bucks a head, that’s what I wanna pay…” and the website, featuring video and voice overs by Vince, walks you through the product, the process and the competition.

“Five bucks a head is really an industry first given our level of service,” a spokesman from PayPerHead.com explained. “And we very carefully and in great detail delineate on the website exactly what you get and at what price level at PayPerHead versus the other serious players, such as PPH International.”

As a sportsbook agent, what you get is a lot, including not only the traditional online sportsbook but an optional casino, live poker, in game live betting, mobile betting, tools for managing players and their funds, layoff and scalp accounts, even a “sharp check.” “We have the sharpest lines out there and one of the most experienced stages anywhere offshore,” the spokesman said, “so if we start seeing sharp action from one of your players, we can give you a heads up. What you want to do with him is up to you.”

The choice of Vince Curatola has intrigued many. “We always liked Vince’s character on The Sopranos, as John “Johnny Sack” Sacramoni,” the PayPerHead spokesman said. “He had a certain style, always classy, but never over the top; there’s a calmness and authority about him that we really admire.  He brings that serious business demeanor to PayPerHead.com, the first sportsbook-service to EVER feature any kind of celebrity in its marketing.”

With post-up books like BetUS, Sportsbook.com and SportsInteraction stopping taking US players, Bodog and others struggling with “Ecom” processing problems, the street scene is heating up and players are posting daily in forums looking for a “local out.” Players want the biggest choice of markets, including live in-game betting, and the convenience of anytime betting online or via their mobile device, but more and more say “they want to bet online but prefer to settle in cash on Monday.”

Is this the future of online sports betting? It very well could be. And with firms like PayPerHead.com investing in marketing in an unprecedented way (celebs, who’d have thunk it?!) and in product (they also offer live poker, casino and in-game betting), expect to see this sector grow significantly this season.

For more information, see PayPerHead.com.