No real shenanigans or conspiracy here, but a couple of things should be mentioned.
The handful of bets that were made in the few minutes it was re-opened will stand, since there's no inside info or anything that makes the risk different from what it was last night. And if anybody wonders, I didn't place any bets today, mine were made last night.
But there are a couple of reasons why the bet should have stayed closed. First off, some folks look at the closing time when the bet is created, and make their decision shortly before the vBet closes with the best information available at that time. And they want to know that when they are placing their bets, they're doing it at the last available opportunity. They shouldn't have to wonder if the original posted closing time is their last chance to place a bet.
Also, mods and admins should be subject to the same restrictions as everybody else in regards to placing a vBet. I know that 'Wade' wasn't trying to do anything sneaky here; he just didn't see why the bet couldn't still be open since the announcement was this afternoon, so he wanted to open it up for everybody.
The original bet was made yesterday afternoon, minutes after a request was made in the Admin forum vBet ideas thread. I normally like to keep bets open as long as possible to give everybody the best chance to see them, but in the past we've had recruiting announcements that leaked out the night before and we've had to cancel some bets. That's why I made the closing time to be 11 pm Eastern time last night, which meant the bet was only open for less than 5 and a half hours.