Steve Burkhart's favorite team isn't vying for a Super Bowl trophy, but that doesn't mean Burkhart's wallet won't come into play.

Hardly a week of football or basketball season goes by that the Moorpark College volleyball coach doesn't bet a few bucks on which team will win or who will cover the spread. So when the Super Bowl, the biggest event in American sports, rolls around, of course he has to get part of the action. How could you not, he wonders.

"You can't go to a Super Bowl party anywhere and not get involved in some gambling," he said. "It piques my interest in the game."

Across the country today, diehard fans as well as those with just fleeting interests in the game will be paying attention to every touchdown, the coin toss, the Gatorade victory bath and even the first commercial of halftime with hopes of getting lucky and winning some cash.

This Super Bowl is expected to have the largest betting pool ever, according to gambling experts, including R.J. Bell, president of the online gaming site Pregame.com. More than $100 million is predicted to be legally bet on the game. That is a fraction of what makes up the under-the-table wagers, office pools and so-called grid games that go on at seemingly every Super Bowl party.

Some are estimating the illegal bets at $1 billion, but there is no real way to measure that.

Acceptance of gambling

Those who make a living on gambling — studying it, not doing it — attribute the rise to a number of factors. Yes, it is in part because of the golden child reputation of the New England Patriots, and the New York Giants do have a huge following, but it's also a sign of something else, they say.

It's about America's acceptance of gambling and one of mankind's most basic characteristics: taking risks with the hope of reward.

"Gambling at its core is a basic human fundamental value," said Timothy Fong, co-director of the UC Los Angeles Gambling Studies Program. "It goes back to a basic fundamental element of human survival of, In order to survive I need to get as much stuff as I can.'"

Everything in life is a gamble with the hope for something better, Fong said. History, as well as daily life, is based on gambles.

Christopher Columbus gambled on finding out if the world was flat. America gambled on the space race. Every day Southern Californians gamble on which freeway will have the least congestion. Without taking chances, humans would never advance.

A family destination

Then again, there probably wasn't a point spread on whether or not the Russians would make it to the moon first, but these days you can bet on anything. It's a far cry from the most ancient records of gambling, when herders used sheep bones as dice, but it's proof that while gambling has been around for a long time, it has come a long way.

"Gambling has exploded," said Bo Bernhard, director of the gambling research center at University of Nevada, Las Vegas' International Gaming Institute. Twenty-five years ago it was viewed as a taboo, shady activity only for people who visited "Sin City," which was one of the few places in the country to gamble.

These days, Las Vegas is billed as a family destination, and gambling is legal in 48 states.

"Gambling has lost its stigma," Bernhard said. California now has more places to gamble than Las Vegas, and the state pulls in more gambling revenue than Vegas, Fong said.

One of the reasons betting on sports is so popular is that it's almost like stepping onto the football field. Except instead of breaking a bone, you can break the bank. Or lose your shirt.

"What gambling does is pack everything great about sports fandom into one event. It packs into a powerful moment everything that is the distilled essence of sports," Bernhard said.

Gambling provides suspense, entertainment, drama and more, he said. There's a reason that high-profile athletes like Michael Jordan are renowned gamblers, he said.

Response is physical one

Bernhard has been studying what physically happens to people when they are gambling with money versus without, basically with or without consequences. He's looking at breathing patterns, muscle tensity and heart rate and found those who have money in the game go through an arousal state when winning that's not too different from sex.

He's also studying what makes gambling addicting and believes the response to gambling is a physical one. About 1 percent of Americans are gambling addicts and 1.5 percent in California are. Bernhard said the easiest way to tell if you have a problem is if gambling stops being fun.

Travis Ueltschi, a bartender at the Ventura sports bar Cronies, knows well the rush of being economically vested in a game. He watches every football game on the weekend because chances are he has money riding on every one of them. He loves the thrill of watching games between teams he doesn't normally care about and rooting for the one that will bring him a payday. He's in at least 10 betting pools for the Super Bowl, hoping to pick up some cash.

'It's not cyclical'

For the others who are placing bets between friends or pools at their offices, keep in mind that it's illegal, but the chances of anyone doing anything about it are slim.

Ventura County Deputy District Attorney Greg Brose said that while gambling is illegal, he can't remember a time when his office prosecuted an office pool or home Super Bowl party. The larger problem is when a crime, such as robbery, takes place because of gambling at a home.

Signs of an economic downturn don't bother Ueltschi, and they don't seem to matter to most Americans when it comes to gambling.

"The nice thing about the betting business is it's not cyclical," said Bell. "If the economy is doing well, people gamble, and if it is doing poorly, a sense of desperation sets in, and there is an increased inclination to take risk."

And many football fans out there wonder, how could you not take a risk?

"Who doesn't?" wondered Ron Wonzy, who was in countless office pools during his years at Amgen, and retirement hasn't kept him from getting into a few with his old colleagues now.

"I got pools and pools and pools," he said. "It's human nature to put some money in the pool."

Here are some of the odds people may be likely to bet on

Color of liquid dousing the winning head coach?

Transparent: 3/1.

Green: 5/1.

Yellow: 3/1

Orange: 2/1.

Red: 3/1.

Blue: 10/1.

Purple: 16/1.

How many times will Joe Buck say Peyton Manning's name during the broadcast? Buck must mention full name in order to count.

More than 5 12 times: 5/6.

Less than 5 12 times: 5/6.

Which quarterback will announcer Troy Aikman mention first?

Eli Manning: 5/6.

Tom Brady: 5/6.

First beer commercial during halftime?

Bud Light: 2/3.

Coors Light: 3/2.

Miller Draft: 7/1.

First car commercial during halftime?

Ford: 6/5.

Chevrolet: 3/2.

Toyota: 3/1.

First fast food commercial during halftime?

McDonald's: 9/5.

Burger King: 11/5.

Pizza Hut: 6/5.

Halftime commercial to have highest rating?

Budweiser: 5/9.

GoDaddy.com: 11/4.

Pepsi: 8/1.

McDonald's: 8/1.

Product to have first ad during halftime?

Bud Light: 4/1.

GoDaddy.com: 4/1.

Coors Light: 6/1.

Ford: 6/1.

Geico: 6/1.

Allstate: 25/1.

State Farm: 25/1.

Coke: 12/1.

Pepsi: 12/1.

Chevrolet: 12/1.

Pizza Hut: 14/1.

McDonald's: 20/1.

Burger King: 25/1.

IBM: 50/1.

Apple: 40/1.

Gatorade: 40/1.

Toyota: 30/1.

Victoria's Secret: 22/1.

Length of national anthem. Singer Jordan Sparks has to perform for action.

More than 103 12 seconds: 5/6.

Less than 103 12 seconds: 5/6.

Temperature at kick off?

Higher than 65 12 degrees: 10/11.

Lower than 65 12 degrees: 10/11.

What song will halftime entertainer Tom Petty open with?

"I Won't Back Down": 3/1.

"Free Fallin'": 3/1.

"The Waiting": 10/1.

"American Girl": 7/4.

"Running Down a Dream:" 11/10.

"Learnin' to Fly": 6/1.

"I Need to Know": 10/1.

"Don't Do Me Like That": 16/1.

"Even the Losers": 5/2.

"You Got Lucky": 25/1.

Tom Petty smokes a joint during halftime show: 100/1.

Tom Petty has a wardrobe malfunction: 125/1.

Tom Petty streaks field during play: 500/1.

Tom Petty will smash a guitar onstage: 65/1.

Tom Petty will curse during performance: 10/1.

Exact coin toss outcome?

New York Giants heads: 12/5.

New York Giants tails: 12/5.

New England Patriots heads: 12/5.

New England Patriots tails: 12/5.

How will the coin toss land?

Heads: 10/11.

Tails: 10/11.

Team to win the coin toss?

New York Giants: 10/11.

New England Patriots: 10/11.

What will the Giants choose for the coin toss?

Heads: 10/11.

Tails: 10/11.

Team to use the first timeout in the game?

New York Giants: 4/5.

New England Patriots: 20/23.

Team to commit the first turnover in the game?

New York Giants: 20/29.

New England Patriots: 21/20.

Manning vs. Brady

Quarterback to throw first touchdown pass?

Eli Manning: 7/4.

Tom Brady: 2/5.

Manning vs. Brady

First quarterback to reach 100-plus passing yards?

Eli Manning: 7/4.

Tom Brady: 2/5.

Feagles vs. Hanson Longest punt in the game?

Jeff Feagles: 10/13.

Chris Hanson: 10/11.

Feagles vs. Hanson Shortest punt in the game?

Jeff Feagles: 5/9.

Chris Hanson: 27/20.

Both teams will score on their first possession?

Yes: 7/2.

No: 1/6.

Will there be an onside kick?

Yes: 13/10.

No: 10/17.

Will the game go into overtime?

Yes: 8/1.

No: 1/30.

If the games goes into overtime, how will it be decided?

Field goal: 2/7.

Touchdown: 9/4.

Safety: 100/1.

Tied game: 22/1.

Total points scores?

0-7 points: 250/1.

8-14 points: 150/1.

15-21 points: 80/1.

22-28 points: 25/1.

29-35 points: 12/1.

36-42 points: 5/1.

43-49 points: 3/1.

50-56 points: 5/2.

57-63 points: 5/2.

64-70 points: 5/1.

71-77 points: 10/1.

78 or more points: 12/1.

Source: Betus.com