When the Governor of Delaware plunked down $10 on June 5 to back his beloved Philadelphia Phillies over the Chicago Cubs, the bet indicated the start of a new era in American sports gambling.
Governor John Carney’s flier on the Phillies managed to create a $20 profit also, following the (+200) underdogs were able to upset that the Cubbies.
That ceremonial bet placed at Dover Downs Hotel and Casino was quickly followed by several larger tickets purchased by more serious bettors, such as a series of $500 baseball bets placed by local pro Stu Feiner.
Overall, across the country’s three racetrack / casino venues — Delaware Park, Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, and Harrington Raceway & Casino — collected $322,135 at wagers on the first day of business. That amount comes directly from Delaware Lottery manager Vernon Kirk, who heads the regulatory group helping to get Delaware’s sports betting business ready to go.
Residents of and visitors to Delaware have managed to partially bet on sports for many decades, but only on”parlay cards” based on National Football League (NFL) games. Those parlay cards demanded several winners to be linked together, and also the only tickets that cashed were those that showed all winners.
Traditional single-game or fixed-odds sports betting, a la what you find in a Las Vegas sportsbook, wasn’t accessible Delaware — or some other American state aside from Nevada for that matter. Under a federal law known as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992, single-game sports gambling was banned anywhere but the Silver State.
That all changed on May 14, but when the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark 6-3 ruling in a case called Murphy v. NCAA. This case originated in New Jersey, after the Garden State made continued efforts to pass its sports gambling laws and regulations. After being sued by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Together with the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, New Jersey’s ultimate appeal to the Supreme Court wound up at the winning column.
Whenever the Court ruled that PASPA violated the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution — which grants states the right to pass their own legislation absent Congressional action — PASPA was struck down once and for all.
What followed that decision three weeks ago was a veritable gold rush, with New Jersey racing to put the last touches on its statewide regulations.
But while lawmakers in New Jersey took their time, their counterparts in Delaware had legal frameworks in place thanks to their parlay card operation. Known as the First State for a reason, Delaware went quickly to become the first nation outside Nevada to take legal sports wagers.
Here is how Governor Carney described the sports gambling launch in an interview with ESPN Chalk:
“For us, it is actually an improvement of our tourism market.
It will attract a great deal of visitors to our state, particularly in this time of year, throughout summer time, coming into our beautiful beaches south of here.
They are here and stop at the casinos and do slot machine and table gaming. This will be an additional opportunity for them.”
Carney also took a moment to hype Delaware as the Northeast’s newest sports gambling destination when talking to USA Today:
“Gloating in this industry does not last very long.
We’re delighted to be first now.
I really don’t expect we’ll be the only one quite long, but now it seems very good to be original.”
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Carney’s historical first bet was placed at Dover Downs Hotel and Casino, however, the state is home to two more racetrack / casinos using in-house sportsbooks: Delaware Park Racetrack and Harrington Raceway and Casino.
Until the sportsbooks in Atlantic City go live — that should be any minute now — Delaware stands out as the sole place for residents of the East Coast to place wagers. Bearing that in mind, bettors will be flocking to these casinos from all corners of the Northeast.
To help get you started on your sports betting journey, I’ve gone ahead and seen each of the three sportsbooks in Delaware. Below you’ll find objective and honest reviews of each centre, together with have to know information such as the address, contact number, website, and distances from regional population centres.
Check out my reviews of those 3 sportsbook places now working in Delaware to create a more informed decision with your betting buck:
Delaware Park Racetrack
Address: 777 Delaware Park Blvd, Wilmington, DE 19804
Phone: -LRB-302-RRB-??994-2521
Website:http://www.delawarepark.com/sports-betting/
Distance from Philadelphia:41 miles
Distance from Baltimore:69 miles
Distance from New York: 122 miles
Distance from Boston:355 miles
Located at the very northernmost point of the state, in the city of Wilmington, Delaware Park Racetrack is the most conveniently accessible venue for people in New York and New England.
It is also the most attractive of this trio, the casino centre nestled close to the banks of the Delaware River along a grassy green hill. In the exterior, Delaware Park seems to be another stately three-story property, but once you step foot in you’ll feel like you’ve walked on the casino floor in Las Vegas.
Between the slot machines, bright lights, and golden trimming, this place is more like the Golden Nugget than your average rural racetrack.
When you discover the sportsbook areas — which are located in the clubhouses on the 1st and 3rd floors — you will be greeted by an array of brightly colored tiny lightbulbs displaying the day’s lines and odds. These betting boards was cutting edge in vegas about 10 years ago, however Sin City has phased out them in favour of high-definition television screens instead.
But you know what they say about a person’s trash being another’s treasure, so Delaware Park is pleased to have the gambling boards onsite.
Just ask William Fasy, that serves as president of Delaware Park. During a meeting with Deadspin to celebrate his sportsbook opening for business, Fasy touted his place’s most prominent technological flourish:
“These boards were purchased eight decades ago, and they’re no longer employed in Vegas.
But they’re the best boards in Delaware!”
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If you’re unfamiliar with a sportsbook betting board the picture below will show you what I am discussing.
Sports Book Beting Board
As you can see, each game or wager is coded using a base amount (401, 402, etc. in the example image above). When gambling on 401 in the image above, you’d be backing the Minnesota Vikings (-10) over the Los Angeles Rams. That (-10) figure refers to the point spread, so in this case, that the Vikings will be laying 10 points to the Rams.
If you wished to take Minnesota with no spread, just search for the positive or negative numbers to the right of the point spread. These figures are known as the”moneyline,” and they represent true chances on your bet. For the Vikings instance, you’d be backing a large (-600) favorite, even though a bet on the underdog Rams would offer (+400) on your money.
Each team or participant will get their own number, so you’d just tell the clerk”$100 on 401moneyline please” to place a c-note back on the Vikes.
Along with the fancy gaming planks, Delaware Park has also set up a bank of self employed wagering kiosks. These were not up and running just yet when I visited the centre, but they looked like ATM machines in the early 1990s. Think a boxy frame, small screen, and no-nonsense interface and you will get the idea.
It is possible to wager for your heart’s content at Delaware Park, which provides daily actions on Major League Baseball (MLB), and also the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals, along with a ton of daily golfing and tennis tournaments.
If you’re considering futures betting, have a shot at the forthcoming 2018 World Cup soccer championship, or try and forecast which NFL team will take the Super Bowl title this year.
Fasymade it clear in a form of meet and greets with the local press that Delaware Park will be going”all in” on its sportsbook. According to him, each Kind of gambling will be on the desk, save one:
“I think the only thing we’re not going to provide is’in game’ wagering.
You’re likely to have prop bets. You are simply not going to have in sport prop bets going on.
And you’re going to have a truly mobile device.”
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The concept of in-game betting was popularized by online sportsbooks, with gamers able to place extra wagers even as the match is continuing. Say your group falls into an early hole, and you’re keen on balancing the ledger. Placing an in-game bet on the other side provides valuable protection against upsets and unexpected circumstances.
While the in-game gambling fad won’t be coming to Delaware Park just yet, Fasy did allude to the emergence of mobile and online wagering down the road.
Don’t overlook, Delaware is one of only three countries — along with Nevada and New Jersey — where a legal and regulated online gaming industry has already gone live. With online casinos and poker rooms already hosted by the country’s three casino racetracks, it will not be long until it’s possible to download the Delaware Park sportsbook app straight to your smartphone or cellular device.
When it comes to customer service, Delaware Park really hit the ball out of the park. Under guidance from Fasy — who is clearly enthusiastic about turning the place into a sports bettor’s haven — the staff here are knowledgeable and courteous. Sure, a couple hiccups could be observed concerning erroneous tickets and so on, such as my futures wager on the Miami Dolphins season win total being entered as a Miami Marlins moneyline by mistake.
However, those growing pains are to be expected for any new sportsbook. Because of the helpful attendants, I managed to cancel the Marlins ticket and exchange it to the Dolphins in a couple of minutes.
Overall, I can’t recommend Delaware Park enough, based equally on the venue’s contemporary feel and Fasy’s clear commitment to creating the nation’s best sportsbook.
Dover Downs Hotel and Casino
Address: 1131 North DuPont Highway; Dover, Delaware
Phone:-LRB-302-RRB-??674-4600
Site:https://www.doverdowns.com/horse-racing/race-and-sports-book
Distance from Philadelphia: 78 miles
Distance from Baltimore:106 miles
Distance from New York: 165 miles
Distance from Boston: 388 miles
When I first laid eyes Dover Downs Hotel and Casino, my very first thought was of the glittering Off-Strip casinos scattered across the Las Vegas desert.
Places like the South Point and Red Rock Resort, which combine sprawling hotel towers crossing several stories with classical architecture — that’s what Dover Downs is going for.
And the illusion isn’t broken one bit when you walk through the doorways. Vaulted ceilings, fancy artwork, and marble flooring all unite to turn the place into a casino connoisseur’s dream come true. This location has conference halls, shopping outlets, and naturally, a racetrack in which NASCAR events are hosted every year.
Head through the primary entrance and find the nearest bar off to the side, and you’ll be smack dab at the sportsbook. Just search for the large comfy chairs and massive projector screens overhead, and you are there.
At first glance, the sportsbook centre at Dover Downs seems to indicate a flourishing enterprise place to capitalize on the passing of PASPA. And to be sure, the facility has expanded its offerings to include the full complement of single-game wagers, props, and futures.
However during my time , the attention from staff and customers alike remained on horse racing. That makes sense I suppose, what with the venue’s longstanding affiliation with the”Sport of Kings.”
I was curious, however, about the apparent lack of buzz concerning ordinary sports betting, especially with the NBA and NHL Finals going on in the moment.
A little digging around advised the tale, like I discovered the following quote from Dover Downs president Ed Sutor in an article printed by theDelaware Public:
“It is nice to have. [However ] at Nevada, where they’ve had it for 50 years, it only represents about two percent of their earnings.
A lot of people are mistaking the amounts bet as the revenue.
It is not a massive take for the business.”
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Sutor wasn’t the sole Dover Downs executive that appeared to be lukewarm at best when it came to enlarged sportsbooks in the state:
Dover Downs Gamingchief executive officer Denis McGlynn threw cold water on the notion that sports betting are an economic boon for the state when speaking to Delaware Online:
“There is a lot of rhetoric that gets thrown around down there which does not have any foundation in fact.People have to control their expectations on this.
The dollars that are left after you pay off the winners are very little and you split it among a variety of people in this state.
When (surrounding states) wake up and running, we are just going to observe a draining of people that are coming , as we have observed in the normal casino industry and before that at the horse racing business.”
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Even though a pragmatic company outlook certainly makes sense, particularly from an operator’s perspective, I’m not sure I understand Dover Downs’ angle on this.
By failing to adopt the full array of sports betting options now open to Delaware, the venue risks being abandoned in Delaware Park’s dust. And perhaps that’s already the case.
Last year the state of Delaware accumulated $1.9 million in earnings on its parlay card games. From that figure, Delaware Park dominated the marketplace with $1.2 million, almost three times that taken in by Dover Downs ($422,000).
The lack of faith expressed by the higher-ups at Dover Downs seems to have trickled down to the staff level. Clerks didn’t seem very informed when I asked about futures and unless you were wagering on the ponies, nobody voiced the type excitement I felt back at Delaware Park.
And that’s a pity too, because from the outside , this venue boasts the type of conveniences every gambler appreciates.
Harrington Raceway and Casino
Address: 18500 S Dupont Hwy, Harrington, DE 19952
Telephone: -LRB-302-RRB-??398-4920
Website: http://casino.harringtonraceway.com/sports-book
Distance from Philadelphia:99 miles
Distance from Baltimore:87 miles
Distance from New York: 186 miles
Distance from Boston:409 miles
Harrington Raceway is located incentral Delaware, only an hour and a half from Baltimore and Philadelphia.
But you’re going to be forgiven for driving by the location without even noticing.
This casino has been affixed to a little harness racing course, along with the entire grounds was built outside in the middle of nowhere.
The casino building’s exterior resembles that of non-denominational church, and not much adorns it to imply gambling and entertainment is afoot. It’s an interesting design choice to say the very least, and things do not exactly enhance when you head indoors.
If you’ve ever been into the older Downtown district in Las Vegas — home of”fabulous” Fremont Street — then you know what to anticipate at Harrington Raceway. Rundown slot machines, aging d??cor, and a normally sullen scene would be the defining characteristics of the casino floor.
Fortunately for bettors, the sportsbook place does offer a little bit of improvement — but only barely. Things fell nicer in there, however, the setup of private cubicles with connected TV monitors — standard for racebooks — isn’t exactly inviting. The projector displays overhead are large and bright however, so I will give them that much.
Interestingly , Harrington Raceway’s chief executive officer Patti Key has yet to comment publicly about the legalization of sport gambling. Whether that speaks to a companywide philosophy emphasizing horse racing over the sportsbook isn’t to me to say — but Key remaining tight-lipped is pretty interesting.
Because of the monitor’s standing as a severe harness racing centre, the sportsbook is generally crowded before scheduled start times. If you’re there for sports only, be sure to grab a copy of the daily racing form to see when the lines will start piling up.
A nice byproduct of this venue’s serious approach to horse racing is that the staff are prepared and ready to roll. I needed to fix a few ticket authors from time to time in the other two sportsbooks, but the people at Harrington batted 1.000 in terms of accuracy.
In general, the experience surpassed what I would have expected when I first saw the construction, which is likely the reason why they say to never judge a book by it’s cover.
Conclusion
Based on where you call home, one of the three venues listed above are the most suitable based solely on proximity. That is probably reason enough to choose a favorite, but because Delaware is a small country, it is possible to hit all three inside a weekend to see them up close and personal.
In terms of my tour of the state’s sportsbooks, I preferred Delaware Park, Harrington Raceway, and Dover Downs in this order.
Delaware Park benefits from the enthusiasm of its direction, as Fasy attracts a genuine interest in the sports betting business to the table. His staff are really eager to assist new bettors learn the principles, and that goes a long way in my own book. When the very first online sportsbooks go reside in the First State, I will bet my bottom Delaware Park is running the series.
Harrington Raceway might not be much to look at, but the venue knows how to run a racebook. The staff can answer questions and guide you through the process with ease. Whether that victory extends to sports gambling remains to be seen, but I’ve a feeling serious bettors can call this place home.
In terms of Dover Downs, my feelings about the situation are easy — when the people in control do not appreciate sports betting, they won’t enjoy sports bettors . Until I hear word about a change in tone coming down the chain of command, I just wouldn’t expect that the mistakes and malaise here to be resolved anytime soon.
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