Something tells me I'm supposed to officially discourage wagering on news events, but the site [Poolitics] looks fun. I particularly like that jackpots are so small. I wonder if this has been considered as a teaching aid. Seems like the perfect way to get kids (and people generally) to want to pay attention to the news.

A New York-based Web site, poolitics.com, launched its first pope-related pool April 2, the day John Paul passed away, and now hosts half a dozen pope-related pools.[...]

Kiera McCaffrey, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based Catholic League, the nation's largest Roman Catholic civil rights organization, said Catholics aren't offended by papal wagers when they're in small amounts.

"While we would never encourage it, for the most part it seems like harmless entertainment," McCaffrey said. "It may seem inappropriate or unseemly to be betting on a process that's guided by the Holy Spirit, but I think people's intent for the most part is to just enjoy a diversion.

"It's nice that people are taking more interest and looking at the lives of the cardinals."