WIRED Staff
Culture

Slideshow: Lots of Money Hooked on Brackets

Think you have a lot of cash riding on your office's NCAA basketball pool? It's chump change. For the biggest sports sites, online bracket tournaments are now a huge source of traffic -- and advertising dollars. By Michael Myser.
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Oklahoma State's Janavor Weatherspoon (25) takes the ball to the basket as Saint Joseph's Chet Stachitas (13) defends during the first half game action at the NCAA Regional final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Saturday, March 27, 2004. Oklahoma advanced to the Final Four after John Lucas nailed a 3-point shot with 6.9 seconds remaining in the game and edged out St. Joseph's 64-62.

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Connecticut's Hilton Armstrong, center, goes up for a dunk with the help of teammate Josh Boone, right, as Vanderbilt's Mario Moore tries to block him during the second half of their NCAA Phoenix regional semifinal game. The Huskies advanced to the Final Four by outplaying Alabama, 87-71.
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Xavier's Anthony Myles, right, gets an elbow in the face trying to defend against Duke's Shelden Williams during the first half of their NCAA Atlanta regional final at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Duke defeated Xavier 66-63 and secured the team's 14th trip to the Final Four.
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Georgia Tech center Luke Schenscher, of Australia, goes to the net against Maryland during the second half, in this Jan. 17, 2004 photo. Schenscher scored 15 points in the Regional final game against Kansas, propelling Georgia Tech to a 79-71 victory and a spot in the Final Four.