The world survived 6-6-06 with just the usual share of disasters such as dust storms and volcano eruptions.

One offshore book, taking $500 limit wagers at 100,000/1 that Earth would make it through another day, had to pay off people at the rate of half a penny or so.

According to one spokesman, folks bet both sides.

There would have been some mighty big payoffs due had the apocalypse come, though collecting might have been a problem.

"I'd would've liked to have taken bets on on that one, as long as people put their money up up front," well-known Las Vegas sports gambler Lem Banker said.

"They could have set their own odds and made them anything they wanted.

"If they won, they could have come looking for me ... not in heaven, but in hell.

"That's what I think of those things.

"And that's your answer."

Some Las Vegas bookmakers believe the offshore gambling industry may be going too far with certain betting propositions, but are reluctant to go on record as saying so because, as one put it, "I don't want 20,000 e-mails."

Others say, "Let them have their fun, it's legal."

The Nevada Gaming Control Board strictly regulates what Silver State books can offer and bans wagering on anything that isn't pure sports.

Anything that involves voting is verboten in Nevada ... except boxing, which is somewhat difficult to understand, considering the number of bouts in which judges' decisions have been questioned.

Most offshore stores are loosely regulated.

Last week media wires were inundated with stories about wagering on the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., as well as betting on when and where hurricanes will hit hardest this year.

"It's morally wrong to bet on people's lives, but yeah, they can do it," Stratosphere Tower Race and Sports Director Robert Jaynes said.

"On the flip side, people always look for odd things to bet on.

"Some people even bet on whether Elvis or Jimmy Hoffa will be found alive, even though it's been proven they won't.

"People like to sit around bars and bet on things, anything ... whether the next guy who walks in will have a moustache or be wearing a tie."

John Avello, the race and sports director at Wynn Las Vegas, is known throughout America for formulating exotic entertainment odds on things like the Oscars, Emmys and "American Idol."

Avello was peripherally involved in hurricane forecasts in that he was contacted by some oddsmakers.

"I looked at it from the viewpoint that it was just predicting the weather and said it would be a light hurricane season," Avello declared.

He thinks "it would be fun" if bookmakers could spread their wings some, but draws the line on events that involve youths, such as the National Spelling Bee.

"The Spelling Bee, no," he said.

Politics would be "fun," Avello added, "but we have to stay away from that."

Some offshore books have posted odds, averaging about 300/1, that Bill Clinton will win the 2008 U.S. Presidential race, even though he is constitutionally forbidden from serving a third term.