Vegetarian Interrupted?

Sure, I make a bet from time to time for something like a cup of coffee, but I am by no means a seasoned gambler. You could fill a book with the things that I don't know about gambling. (Like what in the hell is a "river card"?)

I am fairly confident about a few things, however. I'm reasonably confident, for example, that no "sure thing" exists in gambling. And I certainly know from watching Honeymoon in Vegas that you don't bet something that you are not willing to lose. I don't know if Mumbles has seen that movie but, before he makes any more bets, he should. Listen:

The other day in carpool, I made an unfortunate reference to David Puddy, the Seinfeld character, who responded to the question "Where do you want to eat?" by saying "It feels like an Arby's night." Mumbles picked up on the Arby's reference and suggested that I could go to Arby's and get the "five for $5.00," which is a deal that Arby's has offered from time to time -- five regular roast beef sandwiches for five dollars. I mentioned to Mumbles that I thought that Arby's most generous offer is currently five for $5.95. Mumbles flew into a near rage, emphatically suggesting that we bet on it.

I didn't want to bet Mumbles, mostly because I wasn't all that confident that I was right. But when Mumbles proposed the terms, I really didn't want to bet. The terms -- again, suggested by Mumbles -- was that the loser of the bet had to eat five roast beef sandwiches from Arby's. I should point out now that, for those of you who don't know, Mumbles is a vegetarian. He doesn't even eat cheese.

I tried to dissuade Mumbles from entering such a rich bet. "I'm not eating five sandwiches," I told him. "I just don't want all those calories." But at that point, I could barely hear myself talk. Sparky and Madd Dogg were in the back seat chanting (helpfully) "DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!" They sounded like frat boys at a beer-bong contest. I am ashamed to say that I folded under their pressure and accepted Mumbles's bet on modified terms -- the loser would eat only one roast beef sandwich.

If you've taken any classes in contracts law, you will immediately wonder if the "contract" that Mumbles and I entered suffers from an enforceability problem. That is, I sort of like the Arby's roast beef sandwich. So I really didn't put anything at stake in the bet. Mumbles, on the other hand, put his vegetarian lifestyle at stake. And the guy used to work for PETA, for crying out loud. Is Mumbles an idiot for talking me into a bet in which he is the only one who stands to lose anything? Draw your own conclusions.

And at this point, it's unclear who will win or lose the bet. As you can see from the picture, Arby's does currently have a "5 for $5.95" offer. But the fine print on the window of the restaurant -- which I got out of my car to read -- says that the $5.95 deal applies to, among other things, sandwiches with roast beef and cheddar .

Does Arby's still offer the traditional "5 for $5.00"? For Mumbles's sake, let's hope so.