This weekend marks the conclusion of the Belmont betting Triple Crown, as the Belmont Stakes take place on Saturday June 11, 2011. When the race concludes, sports fans can head home or to the airport, to fly to Vancouver, Canada to watch the UFC 131 event featuring a main event of Shane Carwin taking on Junior Dos Santos. After a lackluster UFC betting 130 in late May, UFC 131 has the potential to bring back the credibility the UFC lost last month. Here is a preview of the card.

The original main event of Junior Dos Santos taking on fellow The Ultimate Fighter coach Brock Lesnar was scratched in the middle of last month, as Lesnar discovered he had a recurrence of the Diverticulitis infection that kept him out of action for a year and a half earlier in his MMA career. In an ironic twist, the man to take Lesnar’s spot against Dos Santos is Shane Carwin, Lesnar’s most recent opponent in the octagon just under a year ago. Recall in that match, the then undefeated Shane Carwin, lost by submission to Lesnar, and seemingly hadn’t been able to find an opponent before this card. Carwin was set to take on Jon Einemo, but was quickly moved into Lesnar’s place when he pulled out due to injury.

This fight features two of the hardest hitting heavyweights in the history of the MMA. In fact, many MMA purists would argue that the quick fix main event at UFC 131 is a dream match in of itself, as both Carwin and Dos Santos share identical records of 12 and one in the octagon. What’s more, both fighters are strikers’, meaning to say, the best chance for a good fight, is to watch these two battle standing up.

On Saturday May 28, 2011 in Las Vegas, Belmont betting enthusiasts will be watching Rampage vs. Hamill at UFC 130. This month's UFC betting card has the unlucky pleasure of being the card to follow up the biggest card in MMA history, UFC 129. Here is a preview for UFC 130.

Originally set to be the third and final encounter between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, for Edgar's Lightweight title, UFC 130 was altered a few weeks ago. Essentially, Edgar and Maynard both withdrew from UFC 130 due to injuries, and Rampage and Hamill stepped in as the new main event.

The new main event features Rampage Jackson, one of the biggest draws in the UFC over the last few years, taking on relative unknown Matt Hamill. Looking closer at Hamill, UFC fans will discover that Hamill was on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter reality television series. During that season, Hamill had to pull out early in the series because of an injury. However, the UFC liked Hamill enough to give him a contract a few years later. Prior to his upcoming fight with Rampage Jackson, Hamill has fought both current Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and the dean of mean Keith Jardine. Matt Hamill defeated Jon Jones, due to Jones firing off illegal elbows and being disqualified. Meanwhile with Jardine, Hamill was able to walk away victorious after a judge's decision.

Conversely, Rampage Jackson enters UFC 130 with a ton to prove to MMA purists. Firstly, Rampage is still attempting to revamp his image after being destroyed by Rashad Evans last June. Making matters worse, Jackson won a controversial decision over Lyoto Machida in November. As a result of both lackluster fights, Jackson is having a difficult time finding an opponent. What's more, even if he destroys Matt Hamill this Saturday, Jackson will be criticized because many people question if Hamill deserves to be in the main event.

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

The campaign leads with Vince asking "Five bucks per 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 Price Per Head."

And 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 was an interesting one. "We always liked Vince's character on The Sopranos, as John "Johnny Sack" Sacramoni," the PayPerHead spokesman said. "He had a certain style, classy, but not 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 huge selection of markets, including live in-game betting, and the convenience of anytime betting online or via their mobile, 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? Quite possibly. 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.

Preakness betting enthusiasts looking to wager on UFC 130 received some terrible news earlier this week, when the main event title fight was cancelled due to injuries to both combatants. With less than three weeks until the sports betting event at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, UFC fans are scrambling to adjust their picks for the card. Here is an update on the card.

The new UFC 130 card is headlined by an impromptu matchup featuring Quinton Rampage Jackson taking on Matt Hamill in a Light Heavyweight fight. On paper, this fight seems like squash match you would see on a WWE event, as nobody believes Hamill can defeat Rampage. What's more, the only thing enticing about this fight is that the winner is expected to fight Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Bones Jones later in the year.

However, MMA fans, there is plenty to be excited about with the UFC 130 card, despite the lackluster new main event. For instance, Frank Mir verses Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve verses the undefeated Travis Browne, have MMA purists still tuning into the card. What's perhaps most interesting about this card, is that despite the cancellation of Edgar v Maynard III, former WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres is still only set to fight on the preliminary card set for Spike TV.

The UFC 130 event comes with a sense of irony. Essentially, when UFC President Dana White announced the cancellation of the Edgar v Maynard main event, he did so at the same press conference in which he announced the UFC had taken out more insurance on their fighters. The new insurance, coincidentally, covers fighters who suffer injuries during training, which just so happened to be the case for both of Edgar and Maynard. Unfortunately, the new insurance doesn't cover the fans who shelled out the money to specifically see the Edgar vs. Maynard title fight.