Scenes From Inside The Books: Bettors Swarm In For NFL Opening Week
Football is back!
Football is the most popular sport in the United States. The sport also accounts for more than half of the wagers made in Nevada. Anecdotally, football is as popular with those betting illegally on sports. We’ll see gaming reports that show how much and how often people are betting on football in other states.
The first weekend of both college and pro football in the sportsbooks around the country is in the books. It appears that other states may see the same kind of action around football as Nevada sees.
Easing into the day
Football games starting at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. in Las Vegas is both the greatest thing in the world and difficult to deal with. The scene in Las Vegas sportsbooks is always mellow to start. The day begins with coffee, booze, or a combination.
The scene during the kickoff of NFL season at the Westgate SuperBook, the world’s largest sportsbook, started off with a massive but relaxed crowd. The vibe from the crowd grew as the hours passed. There’s nothing like those big beautiful screens and a packed house to get the energy flowing.
Philly Dilly in New Jersey
This year, gambling on individual football games will also take place in New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, and Mississippi. The William Hill sportsbook at Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City was packed all weekend long.
South New Jersey is almost like a suburb of Philadelphia. Even though the sportsbooks in Atlantic City are about an hour away from Philly proper, they will be packed with Iggles fans all season. Here we have some bros celebrating their opening night victory against the Falcons.
Scenes from (far from) Sin City: Finally, the first touchdown of the NFL season. And Eagles fans rejoice inside @TheOceanAC @WilliamHillUS sportsbook! @Covers pic.twitter.com/goOffIdLV3
— Patrick Everson (@Covers_Vegas) September 7, 2018
Ocean Casino Sportsbook is rocking
The sportsbook at Ocean Casino was packed for football all weekend long. The action never slowed down as you can see from this video from the recording studio above the crowd.
Packed house at @TheOceanAC from our view at @VSiNLive pic.twitter.com/kQl2qUMwoj
— Noah S (@noahismyname) September 9, 2018
Golden Nugget was packed, too
The Golden Nugget is also located in Atlantic City. This casino is located in the marina along with the Borgata and Harrah’s. This is a different part of Atlantic City that isn’t on the Atlantic Ocean (like Ocean Resort Casino). The sports betting action was in full swing all over town as the Nugget sportsbook was packed for the opening day of the NFL season.
This is what Sundays should look like! 🏈🤑 #GoldenNuggetAC #Sportsbook #SundayFunday pic.twitter.com/1I9MdKTpQo
— Golden Nugget AC (@goldennuggetac) September 9, 2018
Horses and football
The casinos in New Jersey aren’t the only places to bet on sports in the state. The FanDuel Sportsbook at the Meadowlands and William Hill sportsbook at Monmouth Park are located at horse tracks. Both were packed for the opening weekend of the NFL season.
The lines to bet on sports at Monmouth Park were long all day. As you can see they started out neat and orderly…
Sportsbook at Monmouth Park week 1 nfl pic.twitter.com/cq9hVaiwEH
— Steve (@jerzsteve) September 9, 2018
…then the lines started to ooze into one another as the day continued.
NFL bettors are piling up and piling on their favored teams ahead of early kicks on Opening Sunday at @WilliamHillUS sportsbook @MonmouthPark! @Covers is inside adjacent sports bar all day/night, with loads of giveaways. Come find me. I’m in green jersey, No. -110! pic.twitter.com/5PYMT9Jl59
— Patrick Everson (@Covers_Vegas) September 9, 2018
This sports betting thing might catch on around the country.