The casino giant and the online sportsbook operator will increase exposure of the GameSense platform at nine NFL stadiums in jurisdictions in which sports wagering is legal. GameSense was developed by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) and originally licensed to MGM in 2017.

The program focuses on positive, transparent, and proactive engagements with guests and customers about how to gamble responsibly. With this development, GameSense marketing will appear more often and in more prominent venue locations during each game,” according to a statement.

Last year, BetMGM and MGM were among the first gaming operators to actively promote responsible wagering habits at NFL stadiums. The other half of BetMGM is controlled by UK-based Entain Plc.

BetMGM Responsible Betting Initiative Practical

The plan by BetMGM and MGM to increase awareness and visibility of GameSense at NFL stadiums is practical on multiple. Not only does the 2024 season start Thursday, but bettors are expected to wager more than ever before on NFL games this year.

NFL players are prohibited from wagering on any NFL event and they cannot use proxies to do so on their behalves. They also cannot wager in any form at team facilities, while traveling to a road game or at a team hotel.

As part of Responsible Gaming Education Month, “MGM Resorts is announcing a $440,000 contribution to fund responsible gaming research through the International Center for Responsible Gaming and Kindbridge Research Institute.”

Variety of Venues to See Responsible Betting Ads

The stadiums that will see increased responsible betting ads this year are Acrisure Stadium, Allegiant Stadium, Empower Field at Mile High, Ford Field, GHEA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, M&T Bank Stadium, MetLife Stadium, Nissan Stadium, and State Farm Stadium.

Those are the homes of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, New York Giants and New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, and the Arizona Cardinals. Online sports betting is legal in all of the states in which those stadiums are located with the exception of the Chiefs’ home field.

“BetMGM will also add to its catalogue of advertisements in the coming months that highlight its comprehensive responsible gaming resources. The spots will feature brand ambassadors sharing engaging messaging, similar to its highly regarded responsible gaming commercial featuring NHL MVP Connor McDavid,” concluded the gaming company.

The post BetMGM to Boost Responsible Betting Ads at NFL Stadiums appeared first on Casino.org.

In a media session earlier this week following a Cowboys practice, Jones said he thinks the Lone Star state will eventually have sports betting, but until then, Texas is missing out on an opportunity to generate significant tax receipts.

I think ultimately you’ll have sports betting in the state of Texas. Until that time, the state does lose an opportunity for huge amounts of revenue,” the Cowboys boss said.

Jones didn’t speculate as to when the state could approve mobile sports betting, but it appears that is highly unlikely to happen prior to the 2027 legislative session. If it happens then and the matter is approved by voters later that year, it’s possible Texas would have mobile sports wagering in advance of the 2028 football season.

Jones Wants Transparency in Texas Sports Betting

Jones and other owners of professional teams located in Texas have been vocal supporters of regulated sports wagering coming to the state because it’d be a money-maker not only for the state, but for their franchises as well.

“I think that properly, properly supervised, by the people that play the games and people that have the teams that play the games and the individual athletes — you’ve got to make sure that the perception is and the reality is that there’s just no compromising on it all being very competitive and up-and-up,” he told the press. “I think that takes some time in some places more than it does others.”

Jones has some gaming investments, including ties to an Arkansas casino plan. Along with several other professional team owners, he was an early investor in DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG).

Texas Sports Betting Outlook

In 2023, both casino gaming and sports wagering made more progress than the issues previously had in Texas, but both ultimately perished because there wasn’t momentum in the state Senate to take up the related bills.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) controls what bills are heard in the Senate and his opposition to gaming expansion is well-documented.

Due to this being an election year, the Texas legislature had a brief schedule, making it difficult to consider gaming issues. The legislature is scheduled to reconvene in January, but the prevailing wisdom in sports betting circles is that politicians there won’t prioritize sports wagering.

The post Jerry Jones: Without Sports Betting, Texas Missing Out On Big Revenue appeared first on Casino.org.

The NFL faced criticism last year after numerous players were found to have participated in legal sports betting in direct violation of the league’s blanket policy on gambling. The pro football league recently clarified its sports betting rules through a document titled, “Summary of NFL Gambling Policy Education & Integrity Monitoring Efforts.”

The summary provides six bullet points that players must abide by. They are:

• NEVER bet on the NFL: Includes other NFL events such as Draft, Combine, Pro Bowl, & NFL Honors
• Don’t have someone bet for you: Do not ask family, friends, or others to place a bet for you
• Don’t gamble (no bets on sports, casino, or card games) at your team facility/stadium, while traveling for a road game, or staying at a team hotel.
• Don’t share team ‘inside information’: Don’t share information that hasn’t been announced by the team.
• Don’t enter a sportsbook during the NFL playing season.
• Don’t play daily fantasy football.

Additionally, team personnel — coaches, trainers, staff, and front office executives — are barred from betting on not only the NFL, but on all sports.

Game Integrity Remains Paramount

The NFL’s 2024 Gambling Policy explanation comes after players and coaches expressed frustration about not understanding the sports betting participation rules last year. After the NFL indefinitely suspended Denver Broncos lineman Eyioma Uwazurike for betting on at least 32 NFL games, including one he played in, Broncos coach Sean Payton scolded the league for not better informing players about the gambling policy. Uwazurike was one of nearly two dozen players suspended last year for violating the gambling policy.

That eight-page handout we received was more confusing after I read it than it was before I looked at it,” Payton said. “It’s not the policy, but it’s the implementation, the understanding, and the educating of the policy.”

The NFL has since committed to better educating players and NFL personnel on the betting prohibitions. The ultimate mission is to protect the integrity of the game and keep outside influences from jeopardizing the legitimacy of game outcomes.

Education Programs?

Along with providing the six-point gambling policy checklist, the NFL this year required all players to undergo educational classes on the sports betting rules. The training seminars were developed in partnership with the NFL Players Association.

Every team also now has a designated NFL Integrity Representative — typically a retired FBI or executive-level law enforcement official — who monitors the team for suspicious activity, supports investigations into potential violations, and serves as an additional resource to clubs and players for gambling and/or integrity-related questions and issues.

The post NFL Clarifies Gambling Policy for Players and Personnel Ahead of Season Kickoff appeared first on Casino.org.

When news of the NFLPA’s suit against the gaming company broke last week, related documents were sealed by the court, but there was speculation DraftKings could owe the union $32.39 million because that was the amount listed in the accounts receivable section of the NFLPA’s 2023 annual report. The union listed that figure as attributable to OneTeam Partners, the marketing agency that brokered the initial deal between DraftKings and the NFLPA.

In the legal document, counsel for the players’ union doesn’t specifically state that $65 million is what the organization is owed. Rather, attorneys for the plaintiffs highlight compensation for five DraftKings executives, including co-founders Jason Robins (currently chief executive officer), Matt Kalish, and Paul Liberman, since 2021, noting the amount owed to the union is four times what was paid to the quintet of executives.

All told, the compensation of just these five aforementioned officers since 2021 is approximately quadruple of what DraftKings owes to the NFLPA licensors,” according to the legal filing.

In addition to Kalish, Liberman, and Robins, the other executives mentioned by the NFLPA are former CFO Jason Park and Chief Legal Officer R. Stanton Dodge. In all five cases, the bulk of their compensation overe the past several years was derived from sales of the company’s common stock, a theme that continues to this day.

NFT Class Action Could Have Implications in DraftKings/NFLPA Rift

In late July, the online sportsbook operator announced the closure of DraftKings Marketplace and the halting of Reignmakers fantasy sports game that was based on the NFTs sold in the marketplace. It’s widely believed the decision was made because US District Judge Denise Casper last month ruled that a class-action suit against the gaming company stemming from issues with the NFT marketplace can move forward.

The NFLPA said “buyer’s remorse” isn’t a valid reason to end a contract and that the gaming company knew the NFT deal wasn’t a risk-free accord.

“At the end of the day, and despite DraftKings’ best efforts to muddy the waters, this case is extraordinarily simple. DraftKings’ inability to profitably commercialize the intellectual property it licensed does not excuse performance, and DraftKings must pay what is due,” according to the union’s legal document. Counsel for the players union added the group renegotiated terms of the pact with DraftKings although it was under no legal obligation to do that.

Reignmakers Started Hot, Pinched by NFT Collapse

DraftKings launched its NFT marketplace and Reignmakers at the height of the NFT craze in 2021. Reignmakers participants would purchase digital NFLPA-licensed collectibles for use in the fantasy game that functioned akin to traditional fantasy sports.

The purchase acted as an entry fee of sorts and the plan was successful for a while, but following the “cryptocurrency winter” of 2022, NFT prices plunged in early 2023, discouraging players from shelling out cash for Reignmakers. As NFT prices wilted and liquidity in the market evaporated, the NFLPA said DraftKings expressed concern about the economics of the licensing agreement and that the gaming company didn’t make a related payment to the union in April 2023. The amount of that payment was redacted in the court filing.

Counsel for the union claim that DraftKings’ decision to abandon the NFT business has no bearing on its financial obligations to the NFLPA and that since the start of this month, the union has received no payments from the gaming company.

The NFLPA is asking the US Federal Court in the Southern District of New York to compel DraftKings to pay all unpaid sums, which are redacted in the filing, due under the amended licensing agreement and to compensate the union for court costs and legal fees.

The post NFLPA Alleges DraftKings Owes it $65 Million in NFT Case appeared first on Casino.org.

In a note to clients today, Macquarie analyst Chad Beynon highlighted the familiar seasonality associated with sports betting equities such as DraftKings. Simply put, football is the most wagered on sport in the US and the arrival of the season often generates upside for online sports betting wagering equities, including DraftKings. He noted the operator is likely to improve upon some of the hold issues that have hampered it in previous fourth quarters.

While history has shown that holding the stock for the two months leading up to opening NFL week has been most profitable, we think much of the 4Q stock softness in recent years can be attributed to DKNG’s hold falling 50-100bps below market expectations for September through December,” wrote the analyst. “Given current 3Q hold/ growth trends, an easier year-over-year hold comp in 4Q, and recently recalibrated ’24 guidance, we think DKNG is well positioned to exceed expectations in 2H.”

Beynon reiterated an “outperform” rating on DraftKings with a $50 price target, implying upside of more than 42% from today’s close.

More Football Catalysts for DraftKings

Shares of DraftKings are off 3.33% over the past month, potentially a sign that football seasonality isn’t yet baked into the stock. The 2024 college football season commences in earnest this Saturday with the start of the NFL following on Thursday, Sept. 5.

Those are among the reasons online is widely viewed as the long-term growth driver of the gaming industry. The possibility that more states will embrace iGaming bolsters that thesis.

“Thus, we view any pullback in the sector from consumer sentiment, regulatory headlines, or low hold as a long-term buying opportunity, with much of the sector now generating positive free cash flow at reasonable valuations,” added Beynon.

Other Football Season Issues to Monitor

Beyond the impact football season could have on shares of DraftKings, there are some other operator-specific issues to monitor as America’s most popular sport unfolds in the coming months. Those include the ability of smaller contenders such as Fanatics and Penn Entertainment’s (NASDAQ: PENN) ESPN Bet to make headway against larger rivals FanDuel and DraftKings.

Some analysts and investors believe the 2024 football season is make or break time for ESPN Bet while others are curious to see how Fanatics can deal with what could be an elevated promotional spending environment.

“1) Do Missouri residents vote in favor of legalizing OSB in Nov (10% proposed tax rate)? 2) Does DKNG close the gap between its handle and GGR market share? 3) Will Fanatics hold on to its recent market share gains during the promotionally high NFL period ? 4) Will ESPN BET monetize its active user base to increase GGR share and how will its NY launch go? 5) Will BetMGM get a material boost from having one digital wallet across states?,” concludes Beynon.

The post DraftKings Best Online Betting Stock to Own into Football Season, Says Analyst appeared first on Casino.org.

The National Football League is contributing $6.4 million to the country’s only national nonprofit dedicated to minimalizing the economic and social costs associated with gambling addiction. The NCPG does not support or oppose the legalization of gambling activities.

The NCPG has since organized a call center where problem gaming experts field calls and direct those seeking help to their state and local responsible gaming centers and relevant health agencies.

The NCPG says the NFL’s grant will help “enhance the helpline’s efficiency, improve access across the country, and ensure that everyone who reaches out receives high-quality care.”?

NFL Partnership?

Once opposed to allowing people to gamble on its games, the NFL has embraced sports betting since the United States Supreme Court in May 2018 overturned a federal law that had limited single-game wagering to Nevada.

To ensure that its fans keep their betting fun and as a form of entertainment, the NFL in October 2021 announced a $6.2 million award to the NCPG, the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit’s largest in its nearly 50-year history. The NFL this week gave the NCPG another landmark endowment. ?

We are profoundly grateful for the NFL’s renewed investment in NCPG, which will enable us to grow the essential prevention, education, and awareness initiatives that were established through their initial grant,” said Keith Whyte, NCPG executive director. “This partnership has been instrumental in advancing our mission of minimizing gambling related harm. We look forward to building on the significant progress we’ve made together over the past three years.”

Along with strengthening the helpline, Whyte says the NFL money will assist in funding the nonprofit’s Agility Grants initiative, a program designed to reach communities underserved by problem gambling resources.

The NFL donation will additionally be used for general awareness campaigns, including ResponsiblePlay.org, a website dedicated to educating fans and the public on responsible gaming practices. Since launching in 2021, the website has reached approximately 750,000 visitors, the NCPG said.

The website provides tips for keeping gambling fun, offers basic facts about problem gambling, and explains where people can get help for problem gambling, whether they are directly or indirectly affected by it.

Most Popular Sport

Football, specifically the NFL, is the most bet on sport in the U.S. It has also delivered oddsmakers the bulk of their revenue as sports betting expanded across the country over the past six years.

The NFL betting survey also found that 29% of bettors risk between $51 to $100 per game, while 32% bet between $11 and $50. About 21% bet $101 to $499 per game, while only 5% bet $500 or more.

The post NFL Reaffirms Responsible Gaming Commitment With $6.4M Donation appeared first on Casino.org.

Prosaic as that thesis is and it is, it’s also sensible because football is the most wagered on sport in the US. The 2024 football season will be DraftKings’ fifth as a freestanding public company. Over the prior four, the stock’s average gain was 5% from the start of the NFL campaign through the Super Bowl, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

DraftKings stock has been a battleground of late, but the shares may already be pricing in football season optimism as highlighted by a 10.69% gain over the past week. Some analysts believe the recent punishment endured by the gaming stock could signal a pre-football season buying opportunity.

With the 2024 NFL season starting on September 5th and DKNG’s share price down 32% from its $50 high in March, this year’s potential return over this seasonally significant window could be meaningful,” wrote Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey in new report to clients.

He reiterated a “buy” rating on DraftKings with a $44 price target, implying upside of 26.4% from today’s closing price. The analyst called the gaming name a “top idea.”

Football, Free Cash Flow Could Boost DraftKings Stock

Football and a robust free cash flow path are among the potential catalysts for DraftKings and there may be more to the story.

“DKNGs’ improved outlook, fueled by stronger market win margins in Q3, new user growth, traditional tax mitigation strategies, and valuation contraction ahead of the NFL season, creates an attractive entry point,” adds Hickey.

Then there was news that the gaming firm is shuttering its nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace and halting the Reignmakers fantasy sports game because of legal issues. Additionally, DraftKings recently sold Vegas Sports Information Network (VSiN) and it’s rumored that the sale price was pennies-on-the-dollar compared to the $70 million the gaming company paid for the radio network in 2021.

“DKNG has turned into a battleground stock,” wrote Needham analyst Bernie McTernan in a recent report to clients.

Analysts Still Bullish on DraftKings Stock

While “battleground” is an accurate description of the current state of affairs with DraftKings, Wall Street remains mostly constructive on the shares.

“Within this market, we believe DKNG has a sustainable customer acquisition strategy that should continue to drive its first- or second-place position in all states,” McTernan noted. “We expect margins to scale with from tech stack ownership, benefits of national vs local marketing and reaching terminal market access penetration.”

In a report out earlier Tuesday, Oppenheimer placed DraftKings on its list of top equity ideas for August and September. Those 32 stocks could outperform over the next year.

“The company [will be] a critical player in accelerating the shift in U.S. sports betting from about $150B wagered illegally/offshore to licensed domestic operators,” said Oppenheimer of DraftKings.

The post DraftKings Stock Poised for Football Season Bump, Say Analysts appeared first on Casino.org.

Optimove’s “Insights 2024-25 Consumer Reports on NFL Wagering Intentions” study indicates that 71% of bettors polled expect to bet on more NFL games per week this year, up from 63% last year. The percentage of bettors that place “several” NFL wagers per week is expected to climb to 43% in 2024 from 37% in 2023, according to the research firm. In terms of bet size, the bulk of NFL bettors fall into three primary cohorts, with only small percentages placing tiny or exceptionally large wagers.

“Almost three in ten NFL bettors (32%) wager from $11 to $50 on a single bet. At either extreme of a bell-shaped curve of wagers is $1 to $5 at 5% of NFL gamblers, and 5% who wager more than $500 on a single bet,” notes Optimove.

Not surprisingly, more than eight in 10 (81%) of football bettors queried by Optimove place bets via mobile applications or websites on computers.

Maybe Some Hope for Other Operators

In the US sports wagering industry, it’s clear that Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel and DraftKings have a duopoloy, but the Optimove survey revealed potential spots of hope for the operators that trail “big two.” ?The study indicates that 68% of bettors use at least three apps per week.

“While Draft Kings (24%) and Fanduel (22%) were the top two branded name sites identified and preferred by NFL bettors, it must be noted that in 2023, our survey revealed that 23% of sports bettors said that they have no preference. It underscores that brand loyalty is fleeting in NFL sportsbooks,” adds the research firm.

Ahead of the start of the 2024 football season, another encouraging sign for gaming companies is that 85% of bettors plan to try in-game or live wagering during this football season. Due to frequent stoppages in play, American football is conducive to live betting, but operators need to have the technology to keep up with bettors’ demands or risk losing those customers.

Football Bettors Looking to Exercise Restraint

At a time when some studies indicate credit scores are declining in states allowing mobile sports betting, and others showing bettors selling investments to fund their wagering habits, the Optimove survey shows some bettors are attempting to exercise restraint as the 2024 football season nears.

The good news is that many bettors are aware of resources to help them with problematic wagering, but some experts believe states could do better jobs of promoting those services.

“According to the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) Executive Director Keith Whyte, states have not been aggressive in setting protections for citizens. For sportsbooks, it may place an onus on them to help identify and help bettors gamble responsibly. And it appears that sportsbook operators have stepped up. Of respondents, ninety-four percent (94%) felt their sports betting site has good responsible gambling practices in place,” concludes Optimove.

The post NFL Bettors Planning to Wager More This Year, Says Optimove appeared first on Casino.org.

Twenty-six Iowa and Iowa State athletes sued the state in April. They argue that the investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) used warrantless searches and other unconstitutional techniques.

As a result of the investigation and subsequent prosecution, the athletes’ lives, collegiate careers, and future opportunities were “severely upended,” according to the lawsuit.

The athletes were found to have placed bets while under the legal age of 21 using online sportsbook accounts belonging to friends or family members, which added identity theft charges to the rap sheet.

Most pleaded guilty, paid a fine, and dealt with the consequences for their careers. Four fought the charges and were successful.

‘No Expectation of Privacy’

In their motion to dismiss, lawyers for Iowa argued that 11th Amendment immunity shielded the state from prosecution. The amendment limits the ability of individuals to sue states in a federal court if they are not citizens of that state.

Meanwhile, the athletes who gambled on other people’s accounts had “no reasonable or actual expectation of privacy in gambling accounts they didn’t own,” according to the filings.

“Here, plaintiffs’ own rules violations caused their suspensions and related injuries,” they argued. “Plaintiffs should not gain from their own illicit activity.”

Misuse of Software

DCI agents used tracking software supplied by geolocation company GeoComply to pry into the students’ betting habits on college campuses.

The software is used by online gambling operators to ensure they are only taking bets from users located within the borders of the state in which they’re licensed.

GeoComply made the software available to law enforcement agencies to detect “hotspots” – areas where a large concentration of bets was occurring – so agencies could monitor potential money laundering or other fraudulent activity.

DCI agents also violated some of the students’ Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, according to the lawsuit. These athletes were told during interviews, falsely, that they weren’t under criminal investigation and weren’t read their Miranda rights.

The post Iowa Files to Dismiss College Athlete Suit Alleging Botched Betting Prosecutions appeared first on Casino.org.

Controversial NFL blogger Dov Kleiman, who claims to be “the best and most accurate” aggregator of pro football news, tweeted on Sunday that Davis was expecting a child with Hayden Hopkins. Kleiman’s post came after Hopkins shared the news of her pregnancy on her social media channels.

Kleiman, notorious for getting things wrong, made the announcement go viral after he speculated that Davis was the father.

Congrats! 26-year-old Hayden Hopkins, girlfriend of Raiders owner Mark Davis (70), is pregnant. Happy for the power couple,” Kleiman wrote. The gossip, however, which included wrongly stating Davis’ age, was without merit.

Hopkins quickly denied that Davis is the father.

Reports of Mark Davis being the father of my child are wildly untrue,” Hopkins tweeted on X. “I was pictured sitting next to him at a game in 2022 and have endured false rumors of a romantic relationship since. I was just a guest sitting in the owner’s box with other friends.”

Hopkins says the father is her boyfriend, 30-year-old MLB player Joey Gallo of the Washington Nationals. Gallo is a native of Southern Nevada who was born in Henderson and attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. ?

These continued media stories are negatively affecting what should be my happiest days,” Hopkins continued. “Joey and I are excited to welcome our baby in the fall.”

Davis, worth an estimated $2.3 billion by Forbes, doesn’t have children and has never been married. Kleiman has since deleted his post on X. ?

Billionaire Backstory

Davis relocated his storied NFL franchise from Oakland to Las Vegas ahead of the 2020 season. The $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium built to accommodate his team included $750 million financed through local taxes.

Davis inherited the Raiders organization after his father, Al Davis, died in 2011. The elder Davis is credited as the driving force behind the 1970 NFL and American Football League merging.

Davis sought to relocate the Raiders after officials in Oakland refused to help him finance the construction of a new stadium. The team’s dismal play, which included 14 losing seasons among the team’s previous 17 campaigns, didn’t help.

Valuation Soars

Since relocating to the casino capital of the United States, Davis’ Raiders have become significantly more valuable. According to Forbes, the Raiders are the sixth most valuable team in the NFL with a current value of approximately $6.2 billion.

Before calling Las Vegas home, the Raiders were worth $2.9 billion.

The change came after the US Supreme Court in May 2018 repealed a federal sports betting law that resulted in sports gambling becoming mainstream across the country and the NFL embracing the activity.

The post Las Vegas Raiders Owner Mark Davis is Not the Father of Cirque Performer’s Child appeared first on Casino.org.

SportzBiz.com headlined its article “Congrats, Las Vegas/Clark County: You’re Only $1,178,161,041 From Paying Off Your Raiders Stadium Debt.”

That’s because a 2016 state bill authorized the $750 million to be raised by government-issued bonds. This is the equivalent of paying off a 30-year loan with an interest rate of 3.94%.

By the time the debt is paid off in 2048, the total bill to taxpayers will be $1,354,215,804

That’s only $46 million less than Allegiant Stadium’s $1.4 billion construction budget.

Many critics argue that hotel room taxes should instead go toward improving Nevada’s public education system, which the Guinn Center for Policy Priorities ranked 46th in the nation in 2023.

Unexpected Shortfall

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when visitor volume to Las Vegas plummeted 55%, hotel room taxes alone didn’t even cut it. In November 2020 and May 2021, Clark County had to tap into contingency funds to cover more than $32 million.

The Raiders also contributed $600 million to construct their NFL stadium.

Clark County isn’t expected to be done paying off bond debts on stadiums anytime soon, either. It already approved $380 million toward helping billionaire John Fisher build a new $1.5 billion stadium for his Oakland Athletics baseball team.

That includes $120 million in Clark County bonds.

The post Vegas Visitors Still Have a Fortune to Pay Off for Raiders Stadium Construction appeared first on Casino.org.

Penn has been using the ESPN brand on its mobile sports wagering platform since last November after inking a 10-year, $1.5 billion deal with Walt Disney last August. Michigan is one of the 18 states in which ESPN Bet is available.

The ESPN BET sportsbook and restaurant offers guests approximately 4,500 square-feet of betting and dining space, with high-tech wagering kiosks, big-screen TVs, a 30’ video wall for the ultimate sports viewing experience and elevated bar food and drink. The restaurant is one of the many premium dining options available throughout Hollywood Casino at Greektown,” according to a statement issued by Connecticut-based ESPN.

Prior to Penn reaching an agreement with the sports network, the casino operator’s brick-and-mortar sportsbooks bore the Barstool Sports name.

More ESPN Bet Sportsbooks Could Be in the Works

Neither ESPN nor Penn commented on when another retail sportsbook bearing the sports media giant’s name could appear at one of the operator’s regional casinos, but it’s a strong possibility that’s in the works.

While retail sportsbooks are often money-losers or small profit generators for casino operators, the combination of the ESPN brand and Detroit’s enthusiasm for sports could prove potent at Greektown. Penn acquired the gaming venue from JACK Entertainment for $300 million nearly five years ago.

The Hollywood Casino at Greektown has more than 100,000 square feet of dining, entertainment, and gaming space and 400 guestrooms.

Could Be Good Timing for Greektown Sportsbook

The timing of the debut of the ESPN Bet sportsbook at the Greektown casino could prove beneficial to the operator because Detroit is hosting the NFL Draft, whose first round kicks off on Thursday night. That event runs through Saturday and is expected to bring an influx of visitors to the city, potentially delivering more traffic to local casinos.

ESPN has had a prominent presence at the Hollywood Casino this week and that’s slated to continue through the weekend.

“With the NFL Draft taking place less than a mile from the property, Hollywood Casino at Greektown is hosting a variety of ESPN programming this week, including the First Draft podcast with Field Yates, Domonique Foxworth, Mina Kimes, and Matt Miller on Wednesday night,” the network added in the press release. “On Thursday and Friday, ESPN Radio will broadcast the Unsportsmanlike morning show with Evan Cohen, Chris Canty, and Michelle Smallmon, and the Greeny Show. Additionally, ESPN BET Live, the daily sports betting show on ESPN2, will be live from the ESPN BET sportsbook on Thursday and Friday. ESPN talent will also conduct live SportsCenter hits from the property during the week.”

The post ESPN Bet Sportsbook Debuts at Greektown Casino in Detroit appeared first on Casino.org.

Rodgers was banned from pro football a year ago after a league probe found that the then-Indianapolis Colts player placed bets through a legal online sportsbook in Indiana. The Colts cut Rodgers after his suspension was handed down. The Eagles signed the free agent in August.

Rodgers’ reinstatement allows him to immediately resume all team activities in Philadelphia. The Eagles and the rest of the NFL are readying for the NFL Draft that begins on Thursday night.

An investigation last year determined that Rodgers made over 100 bets on NFL games, including a prop bet on Colts running back Jonathan Taylor that won $1,000. Rodgers was never determined to have thrown or tried to fix a game, but he did bet on his team winning and Taylor rushing for more yards than the total oddsmakers had for his over/under.

Rodgers’ Explanation

Rodgers played critical minutes for the Colts during his three seasons. He played 45 games in Indy in which he recorded 90 tackles and three interceptions. He also returned a kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown.

Rodgers told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” in February that he wasn’t gambling on NFL games. He alleges that he instead placed bets for family and friends living in Florida where sports betting wasn’t yet legal.

I was just trying to help out family and friends knowing that it wasn’t legal at the time in Florida and it was in Indiana,” Rodgers said.

Pressed as to whether he ever bet on sports before, Rodgers answered, “No.” He also told “OTL” that he doesn’t have a gambling problem.

Rodgers acknowledged that, in hindsight, his willingness to place the bets on behalf of his friends and family “was a huge mistake.”

Game Integrity?

Legal sports betting in the US is more widespread than ever, and that’s heightened concerns about game integrity among officials of the “big four” — the NFL, MLB, the NBA, and the NHL.

Betting scandals have also recently rocked MLB, most noteworthy being the controversy involving Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter who allegedly stole millions of dollars from his boss to fund his sports betting activity.

The post NFL Reinstates Isaiah Rodgers After Serving One-Year Ban for Sports Betting Violations appeared first on Casino.org.

“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” read a statement posted to Simpson’s Twitter account by his family.

According to TMZ, Simpson had been battling prostate cancer and landed in hospice care several months ago. Last year, Simpson posted on Twitter that he had “caught” some type of cancer, but had beaten it.

Furthest Fall From Grace

As a professional football player, Simpson scored 63 rushing touchdowns over his 10-year career and became the first player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.

However, he will primarily be remembered for a fall from grace further than any other celebrity’s in modern times, with the arguable exception of Bill Cosby.

Simpson rode his football fame to A-list Hollywood status, starring in blockbuster movies such as “The Naked Gun” and in ubiquitous commercials for the car rental company Hertz.

That all ended after the brutal fatal stabbings of Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and waiter Ron Goldman, in 1994.

However, he was never acquitted in the court of public opinion, nor in civil court, where he was successfully sued by the families of his victims for their wrongful deaths. Simpson was ordered to pay tens of millions in damages.

Casino Raiders

What finally put Simpson behind bars was a crime he was convicted of committing 13 years after his infamous acquittal — a crime that, to this day, causes tourists to stop and ogle when they first view the signage for the Palace Station casino resort in Las Vegas.

According to prosecutors, with whom a jury unanimously agreed, Simpson broke into room 1203 in the Palace Station’s courtyard complex on the night of Sept. 13, 2007, armed goons in tow. His intention was to recover sports memorabilia he believed had been stolen from him.

Simpson was convicted and sentenced by a Las Vegas judge to 9-33 years for kidnapping, armed robbery, and assault with a deadly weapon.

Simpson served the minimum time at Nevada’s Lovelock Correctional Center before being released on parole in October 2017.

As a free man, Simpson settled in Las Vegas, where he lived out a relatively quiet but occasionally awkward retirement, punctuated by rambling videos he posted to social media conveying his thoughts about sports, politics, and other topics that interested him.

Simpson’s final tweet was a video of himself, seated in the backyard of a home and looking unwell, declaring his support for his former team, the San Francisco 49ers, in Super Bowl LVIII.

The post OJ Simpson, NFL Great, Suspected Double Murderer, Convicted Casino Robber, Dies appeared first on Casino.org.

Last week, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs announced plans for $800 million in upgrades to Arrowhead Stadium and the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex. That’s assuming voters approve a sales tax extension on April 2. As things stand today, those efforts don’t include anything related to sports wagering.

If it actually came to fruition, we’d look at it and I think there are ways we could retrofit something if it makes sense,” Chiefs President Mark Donovan said in an interview with KSHB 41. “We probably have a partner who would want to retrofit with us, right? But right now, we are not contemplating that as part of this plan.”

The goal is to have a refurbished version of the venerable Arrowhead Stadium ready for either the 2030 or 2031 NFL seasons.

Missouri A Tough Lift

Sports wagering legislation has consistently floundered in Missouri, despite support from professional sports franchises, including the Chiefs, the Kansas City Royals, and the St. Louis Blues and Cardinals.

Now, some politicians in Missouri want to bypass sports betting legislation and take the matter directly to the voters. Donovan said the Chiefs endorse bringing regulated sports wagering to the state.

“We’ve been supportive and been working on this for four and a half years,” Donovan said in the KSHB 41 interview. “I’ve been in Jeff City more on this issue than any other issue. We think it makes sense. We are very supportive of the coalition. I think (President) Bill DeWitt and the Cardinals deserve the bulk of the credit, because they’ve done the work and they’re in it every single day. We appreciate that.”

Makes Sense for Chiefs

A long road remains for legalizing sports wagering in Missouri. As such, it’s not yet clear what gaming company the Chiefs would partner with on an in-stadium sportsbook. But such venues are approved by the NFL and can be revenue generators for teams.

For Missouri, sports betting could be a revenue generator as well. As many as 24 applicants, including 13 casinos, could apply for licenses. That means licensing fees on top of related tax receipts.

There’s also geographic reasoning for approving sports betting in Missouri. Of the seven states with which Missouri shares borders, six allow some form of regulated sports wagering, with Oklahoma being the exception.

The post Kansas City Chiefs Could Alter Stadium if Missouri Approves Sports Wagering appeared first on Casino.org.

Following a meeting with several high-ranking DraftKings executives, including cofounder and CEO Jason Robins, JPMorgan analyst Joseph Greff said he came away “incrementally impressed.” Greff added that the operator likely notched decent hold on the Super Bowl because neither Kansas Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce nor running back Isaiah Pacheco scored touchdowns in the big game. That means plenty of DraftKings clients lost who built same-game parlays with those props.

Continuous product iteration and technology competencies are driving higher structural hold rates, benefiting from increased adoption of its higher-margin parlay products and other diversified bet types that are unlocking increased engagement and monetization of its customer base,” observed Greff.

Greff added that DraftKings’ overall Super Bowl hold was solid, even with the Chiefs winning. and the operator may have given a clue to that effect by raising 2024 guidance earlier this month.

DraftKings’ iGaming Future Bright

As has been widely documented, gaming companies, including DraftKings, are enthusiastic about the long-term outlook for internet casinos. But just six states currently permit that form of wagering.

Greff added that the DraftKings executives cited bullish revenue trends in the states that allow internet casinos, and that the outlook for expansion is bright because some states. That includes New York and some cities in New England grappling with budget constraints and have a need to find new sources of revenue.

The executives also discussed DraftKings’ recently unveiled $750 million cash/stock deal for online lottery provider Jackpocket. That told Greff the firm will initially function as a standalone entity, and later be integrated into the buyer’s sports betting and iGaming platforms. The acquisition could help DraftKings’ expansion efforts, including into Texas, where Jackpocket is already operational, according to the analyst.

Speaking of Expansion …

DraftKings management told Greff they remain open to additional acquisitions. With a soaring share price, along with $1.27 billion in cash and cash equivalents on hand at the end of 2023, the operator has the resources with which to make deals.

Greff pointed out that given the firm’s strong cash position, it could consider a share repurchase program. But a potential dividend wasn’t mentioned.

The post DraftKings’ Q1 Boosted by Super Bowl Parlays, Prop Bets, Says Analyst appeared first on Casino.org.

Of the estimated $5.37 billion Americans wagered online on this year’s Super Bowl, just $1.4 billion was bet legally, according to the research conducted by Yield Sec. The analytics firm posits that 350.5 million online bets were placed by Americans on the game, 65% of which, or $228.2 million, were on illegal platforms.

That means the black market took a greater share than last year, according to the study. In 2023, the Super Bowl generated 286 million online bets, split between 186 million black-market bets and 100 million legal bets.

Why is it Taylor Swift’s Fault?

Black-market operators can offer the kind of novelty prop bets (exotics) that regulated U.S. market operators can’t. That’s because the latter are generally required by law to stick to sports.

Black-market operators were offering an array of such bets. But in the regulated markets, “Swifties” had to content themselves with betting on their hero’s boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, to score the first touchdown. Sure enough, in the leadup to the game, DraftKings reported this was the most popular bet among its customers.

Back to Black

The idea that regulated online betting weakens black-market gambling, live and online, has been a key argument for states that have legalized sports wagering since the federal prohibition (PASPA) was lifted in 2018.

CFG, which is skeptical of the benefits of regulated online gambling, suggests the Yield Sec research shows this argument has been overstated.

Substitution from illegals to legals is simply not happening at the pace it should – illegals are used as brands of choice and convenience, with some substitution to legals for offers and account-opening incentives, when available, as with the Super Bowl,” states the report.

Unburdened by taxation, regulation, and rigorous security checks, black-market operators often offer more competitive odds, bonuses, and promotions, although they come with fewer customer protections.

They also “prey on Americans, undermine problem gambling efforts, and steal tax dollars from states and local governments,” according to the American Gaming Association (AGA), the Washington DC-based advocacy group for the regulated gambling industry.

The post Taylor Swift May Have Driven Resurgent Black Market Super Bowl Bets appeared first on Casino.org.

According to short-term vacation rental analytics firm AirDNA, NFL fans spent $5.73 million more than Vegas rentals generate on a normal weekend. Swift, meanwhile, brought in an additional $1.6 million from Swifties in town for her pair of 2023 shows at the same stadium.

“The Super Bowl’s revenue is a smash success,” AirDNA economist Bram Gallagher told the Wall Street Journal this week, though he admitted that his company’s data didn’t measure the increased interest that Swift’s presence at the Super Bowl had on Super Bowl vacation bookings.

Hike!

To determine the winner of this competition, AirDNA analyzed the additional nights booked around each event and the average increase in price due to demand.

Additional short-term vacation rental nights booked around the Super Bowl totaled $4.82 million, while the revenue from the price hikes was $908,780. During the Super Bowl, short-term rental rates averaged $365 per night, up 19% from the weekend before.

Las Vegas has 15,500 short-term rental units, according to AirDNA, most of which are in luxury apartments on or around the Strip or houses not too far away. That’s on top of what the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority estimates as the region’s 156,100 hotel rooms.

The post Super Bowl v. Taylor: Which Kick to Las Vegas Economy Was Swifter? appeared first on Casino.org.

Eight of the injured suffered what the Kansas City Fire Department called “immediate life-threatening injuries” during gunfire outside of Union Station.

Seven others had “life-threatening injuries,” and a half dozen suffered nonlife-threatening injuries, according to Kansas City TV station KMBC.

Kids Injured

Eleven children were among the injured, the report added. Nine of these young victims suffered gunshots. They were rushed to Children’s Mercy Hospital where they were undergoing treatment on Wednesday evening.

Initial statements from the hospital said the children were expected to recover from their injuries. The patients there are between the ages of six and 15.

Adult victims were taken to Truman Medical Center and St. Luke’s Hospital.

The fatally wounded victim was identified by Kansas City radio station KKFI as DJ Lisa Lopez, host of Taste of Tejano.?

“This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community,” KFFI said in the post. “Our hearts and prayers are with her family.”

Three Individuals Apprehended

Three people were apprehended following the shooting spree. It’s unknown if they were charged.

Chiefs fans apprehended one of the possible shooters, KMBC reported.

Despite the trauma, some team players attempted to calm down traumatized children.

Chiefs’ offensive lineman Trey Smith presented one youngster with a WWE title belt.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes offered prayers for Kansas City. Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Please join me in prayer for all the victims in this heinous act … Pray that doctors & first responders would have steady hands & that all would experience full healing.”

Anger, Sadness

An estimated 1M people showed up at the parade. Initial shock turned to anger over the mass shooting.

“I’m angry at what happened today,” Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves was quoted by KMBC. “The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment. We had over 800 law enforcement officers at this location.”

We are truly saddened by the senseless act of violence that occurred outside of Union Station at the conclusion of today’s parade and rally,” the Chiefs added in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and all of Kansas City.”

The Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in overtime by a 25 to 22 score. Super Bowl LVIII was played in Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.

The post Super Bowl Victory Parade Turns Deadly in Kansas City: Video appeared first on Casino.org.

The Harrah’s operator was one of several previously held positions in which Appaloosa boosted its exposure during the last three months of 2024. At the end of last year, the money manager held 2.25 million shares of the casino operator, up from 1.53 million at the end of the third quarter, according to a Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday.

As of the end of 2023, Caesars is the only casino stock among Appaloosa’s equity investments.

Interesting, Coincidental Timing

As noted above, Appaloosa added to its Caesars investment during the fourth quarter. But that increase wasn’t revealed until today.

Caesars runs a slew of retail sportsbooks, and it’s one of the more prominent names in the mobile wagering arena. But sports betting’s contributions to the company’s top and bottom lines are dwarfed by its land-based casino operations.

Additionally, with Appaloosa holding just 2.25 million shares of the Flamingo operator, it’s unlikely Tepper and his hedge fund will control 5% of the gaming operator anytime soon. Fellow NFL owners Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys) and Robert Kraft (New England Patriots) were early investors in DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG), but not to the extent of 5%.

Caesars Still Hedge Fund Favorite

Hedge funds have long been engaged with gaming stocks, and Caesars has frequently been a favorite of those professional market participants.

Cohen, who’s also the owner of the New York Mets, wants to bring a casino hotel to Queens, New York,? while Griffin opposes similar efforts in South Florida. He moved his firm to Miami from Chicago and believes casinos could be detrimental to South Florida’s thriving economy.

The post Carolina Panthers Owner David Tepper Boosts Caesars Stake appeared first on Casino.org.

While Las Vegas was the center of the football universe leading up to the big game, some 49ers fans from Northern California opted against expensive airfare and hotel rooms in Las Vegas.? Instead, they traveled to Reno, confirming the big game was a big deal for the “biggest little city in the world.” As reported by Ken Belson of the New York Times, a slew of 49ers fans made the trek from the Bay Area to the Reno/Tahoe area to watch their team take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.

Reno/Tahoe is a shorter flight or drive from the Bay Area than is Las Vegas. Additionally, though it’s hard to quantify in terms of Super Bowl impact, the Reno/Tahoe region has in recent years drawn thousands of residents from the Bay Area. It’s possible that some of the 49ers fans who traveled to Reno for the big game had coworkers, family, and friends in the area.

Reno is attracting companies such as Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, and Tesla, contributing to an unemployment rate below 3%, far below Nevada and national averages.

Reno Sportsbooks Posted Super Bowl Records

Due in large part to 38 states and Washington, D.C., offering some form of regulated sports betting, this year’s Super Bowl smashed records in terms of handle. That trend held true in Reno.

We were completely sold out. Record handle and a sea of Niner fans,” said Jeffrey Benson, director of operations at Circa Sports, in an interview with Casino.org.

Las Vegas-based Circa runs the sportsbook at the Legends Bay Casino in Sparks. That venue, which is located at The Outlets at Legends shopping center, opened in August 2022 and is one of the newest casino hotels in the market. At the time it opened, the sportsbook at Legends Bay was Circa’s sixth in Nevada.

Other gaming companies with Reno/Tahoe casino hotels include Bally’s, Caesars Entertainment, Century Casinos, and Tilman Fertitta’s Golden Nugget.

Another Super Bowl Benefit for Reno

As the Times pointed out, Reno/Tahoe benefited on another front. Many of the 49ers fans who made Super Bowl trips to the region did so because they wanted to bet on the big game — something they can’t legally do in California.

As for when California approves sports wagering, the outlook is murky at best. The issue won’t make it onto this year’s ballot, and even if it’s approved in 2026, it could be several years after that before Tribal gaming entities approve mobile wagering.

The post Reno Casinos See Super Bowl Boost, Circa Sportsbook Breaks Records appeared first on Casino.org.

Ruggs, 25, is incarcerated at Stewart Conservation Camp, which is described as a minimum-security complex in Carson City, according to Las Vegas TV station KLAS.

Nowadays, he’s been earning $2.50 an hour at a job that has him work off-site for government offices, KLAS reported.

Transfer From Prison

Ruggs was first incarcerated at High Desert State Prison after pleading guilty to two charges stemming from a deadly 2021 collision.

In September, he reportedly was transferred to the minimum-security facility.

Ruggs was sentenced in August to at least three years in prison. He could be granted parole in August 2026.

Ruggs was socializing at Topgolf in Las Vegas hours before the crash, and his blood-alcohol level after the deadly incident was 0.16, authorities revealed — double the legal limit.

Following the crash, Ruggs was charged with DUI resulting in death, DUI resulting in bodily harm, two counts of reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm, and possession of a firearm while under the influence. He faced up to 50 years in prison if he had been convicted of those charges, prosecutors said.

Before going to trial, Ruggs pleaded guilty to reduced charges of DUI resulting in death and vehicular manslaughter. The firearm charge was one of those charges dropped as a result of the plea, even though a loaded gun was found in his Corvette after the crash.

Courtroom Apology

Before being sentenced last year, Ruggs apologized to Tintor’s family, his former team (the Las Vegas Raiders), and his relatives.

To the parents and family of Ms. Tintor, I sincerely apologize for the pain and suffering my actions the morning of Nov. 2, 2021, have caused you, your family, and those who knew Ms. Tina and Max,” Ruggs said in the courtroom. “I let my family, my teammates, and those who believed in me down with my actions and hurt so many.”

After the crash, Ruggs was released by the Raiders.

Ruggs was a first-round NFL Draft pick and had signed a four-year NFL contract reportedly worth more than $16M. He led the Raiders in receiving yards in 2021. The former Alabama standout had 24 receptions, 469 receiving yards, and two touchdowns through seven games.

Ruggs’ sentence has been questioned by former NFL star and celebrity O. J. Simpson, who believed it to be short, compared to his own sentence for armed robbery, which was between nine and 33 years.

The post Ex-Raiders Player Henry Ruggs Still in Prison Camp During Super Bowl appeared first on Casino.org.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) reports that $185.6 million was wagered on the big game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. The handle easily set a new record, eclipsing the previous all-time mark of $179.8 million set in 2022, when the Los Angeles Rams played the Cincinnati Bengals.

Despite the historic betting, the two-point underdog Chiefs winning in overtime against the Niners wasn’t what the books were rooting for.

The public — as well as some new bettors enticed to the NFL via Taylor Swift’s presence — backed the defending champs. It was a winning bet.

For comparison, sportsbooks reported a hold rate of nearly 6% on all sports for the 12 months ending December 2023.

Successful Debut

Las Vegas was shunned by the NFL before the U.S. Supreme Court in May 2018 overturned a federal ban that had limited single-game sports betting to Nevada. The league believed the state’s widespread sports gambling would jeopardize the integrity of its games and threaten players, team personnel, and officials.

The Raiders relocated to Southern Nevada ahead of the 2020 season. A year later, after seeing fans embrace Las Vegas and that the nationwide expansion of sports betting helped increase fan engagement and ratings, the NFL in 2021 awarded Allegiant Stadium the 2024 Super Bowl.

Of course, there were some concerns about hosting the big game in so-called Sin City. But aside from a few minor scandals, Super Bowl LVIII was a major success for the town.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board congratulates and thanks all the stakeholders involved for successfully delivering such a spectacular event from the State of Nevada,” said Kirk Hendrick, chairman of the NGCB.

Nevada oddsmakers are now 31-2 in Super Bowls since the NGCB began tracking betting outcomes on the big game in 1991.

The books’ best outcome over the past decade came during the 2020 Super Bowl, when the Chiefs beat the 49ers, 31-20. Oddsmakers kept 12.1% of the $154.7 million wagered for a win of more than $18.7 million.

Record Rating

Along with record betting in Nevada, Super Bowl LVIII led to record television ratings. Nielsen and Adobe Analytics said Monday that Sunday’s broadcast was the most-watched program in television history. The Sunday event averaged 123.4 million viewers, which shattered the previous high of 115.1 million viewers last year for the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles game.

CBS broadcast the Super Bowl, with Nickelodeon and Univision offering alternative broadcasts. The big game was streamed on Paramount+ and the NFL’s digital platforms.

The post Nevada Oddsmakers Squeak Out Super Bowl Win to Continue Streak appeared first on Casino.org.

The men, identified by authorities as Sebastian Rivera, 22, and Alex Gonzalez, 23, were led away after the stunt and handed over to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers at about 6:15 p.m. PT. Both suspects were booked at Clark County Detention Center.

Each was charged with a misdemeanor for prohibited conduct at an athletic event, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Shortly after their arrests, they were released from custody and are due in local court on April 17.

Their presence on the field was spoken about by two veteran CBS sportscasters.

“Oh, we’ve got people on the field,” Tony Romo announced to the national TV audience.

Oh, my goodness, we do, we’ve got a streaker …” Jim Nantz added. “Partial streaker,” Romo corrected him.

The shirtless men were never shown on television.

Casino Brawl

A fight erupted at an unnamed Las Vegas casino following the game on Sunday night. The brawl involved fans of the Kansas City Chiefs and of the San Francisco 49ers. It included four unidentified men beating each other while on a casino floor.?

One of the men was being held in a headlock and was getting punched repeatedly, according to the DailyMail.com.

Other casino patrons attempted to break up the struggle. There’s no word if any of the rowdy fans were arrested.

Initial social media posts didn’t identify in which casino the fight occurred.

Kelce, Reid Tension

Tensions were high among players during the game, too. The Chiefs’ Travis Kelce yelled at — and knocked into — Kansas City coach Andy Reid. Reid stumbled from the impact but wasn’t injured.

Lip reader Jeremy Freeman, later revealed to the New York Post that Kelce told Reid, “Hey, come on, you f**ker, put me on.”

Chiefs’ running back Jerick McKinnon immediately kept Kelce from further outbursts.

Later, Kelce hugged Reid. Reid patted his player’s back, the Post reported.

“As much as he bumps into me, I bump into him,” Reid told the media. “He caught me off balance.”

The post Half-Naked Fans Run on Field, Others Brawl After Chiefs’ Super Bowl Win appeared first on Casino.org.

Sean Perry, 27, opted to go large on the San Francisco 49ers, placing a $1.1 million bet at -1.5, which would have returned $2.1 million for a $1 million profit. But the Kansas City Chiefs had other ideas.

Recently, he’s reinvented himself as a sports bettor and handicapper, who claims to be “up eight figures lifetime” when it comes to betting.

Perry posted an image of his Circa sportsbook betting ticket to his X followers on Sunday morning but didn’t reveal the name of the team he was backing. He left it until after kickoff to do that.

‘I’ll Be Back’

To be fair to Perry, for much of the game it looked like a shrewd bet, especially because the line closed at -2 and the Niners were up 10-0 in the second quarter. But the Chiefs stunned their opponents in overtime, winning their third Super Bowl title in five years in a thrilling 25-22 victory.

In a video posted on X late Sunday, Perry appeared touched by his followers’ concern for his well-being after losing such an earthshattering amount of money. But the professional gambler reminded them that he would never stake money he couldn’t afford to lose.

“Guys, I promise you I’m going to be fine,” Perry said. “I’m used to firing millions of dollars on games all the time, and I know I’m going to be back tomorrow … and by the end of the year, I will continue crushing. This last month … I’m up over $4 million.

“So, yes, losing a million in one day sucks, but it happens. That’s part of gambling. I’m not going to tell you guys every bet is guaranteed to win because that doesn’t exist. In the long term, we’re going to get there. As long as we keep beating the closing lines, that’s all that matters.”

Circa Survivor

Perry was one of the finalists in the Circa Survivor sports betting contest, which challenges gamblers to pick one straight-up NFL winner each week, selecting each team only once.

When the field got down to 13 from 9,267 entrants, he refused to chop the $9.2 million first prize.

“With all respect, I’m the best bettor in the world. There’s no way I’m ever chopping. I wish you guys all the best. I’ll see you at the finish line,” Perry said.

He was eliminated in fifth place.

The post Poker Player Sean Perry Loses $1.1M Backing San Francisco 49ers appeared first on Casino.org.

In a statement provided to Casino.org on Monday, BetMGM’s senior trader Tristan Davis explained the retail and online sports betting operator had considerable liability on the Chiefs. Several prop bets also went the bettors’ way.

It was a bad Super Bowl for the sportsbook. Many bettors had the Chiefs winning and overs on popular player props,” said Davis.

BetMGM took a $300K bet on the Chief spotting two points, and a moneyline bet of $125K on Kansas City at +110. A bettor also plopped down $100K on the coin flip landing on heads (-105), which it did.

Lopsided Bets

?The morning after the Super Bowl, BetMGM revealed that it was rooting for the San Francisco 49ers to win the big game.

The Chiefs were responsible for nearly 75 cents of every $1 bet on the spread and 63% of the spread money wagered. Kansas City also dominated the moneyline action, as the Chiefs accounted for 75% of the bets and 72% of the handle.

The sportsbook co-owned by MGM Resorts International also reported losing on several popular player props, including Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes running for more than 25.5 yards (-125) and tight end Travis Kelce catching for over 69.5 receiving yards (-135).

Other books reported on social media that the game going into overtime was a losing proposition for oddsmakers. The line for OT was around +900, as only one Super Bowl before yesterday had gone to extra minutes — the 2017 game that the New England Patriots won 34-28 against the Atlanta Falcons.

Streak in Jeopardy

Since Nevada began tracking oddsmakers’ performances on the Super Bowl in 1991, the books have lost only twice.

The house lost Super Bowl XXIX played on Jan. 29, 1995, when the 49ers covered an 18.5-point spread to win convincingly 49-26 over the San Diego Chargers. Nevada sportsbooks lost nearly $400K on about $69.6 million in action for a -0.6% hold.

The books that year lost nearly $2.6 million on $92.1 million bet for a -2.8% win rate. The Patriots went undefeated during the regular season but the underdogs attracted much of the Super Bowl action.

Since the 2008 Super Bowl, Nevada oddsmakers have run off 15 straight NFL title games on the winning end. With BetMGM disclosing that Sunday’s big game was “a bad Super Bowl,” it could mean the streak came to an end Sunday night in Las Vegas.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board is expected to release the state’s Super Bowl LVIII sports betting report later on Monday.

The post BetMGM Oddsmakers Say Chiefs Overtime Victory ‘a Bad Super Bowl’ appeared first on Casino.org.

That means that Super Bowl LVIII should overtake last year’s big game (115.1 million) as the most-watched Super Bowl ever, but fall short of the all-time viewership record set by the 1969 moon landing (650 million).

The record ratings are expected to cap an already above-average year for the NFL, whose regular season games drew an average of 17.9 million viewers, the most since 2015.

Contributing factors include the nail-biting excitement of only the second Super Bowl to ever enter overtime, the draw of an Usher halftime show, and false rumors of a halftime appearance by Usher protégé Justin Bieber.

But, of course, everyone knows the real reason ….

Swift Kick

Taylor Swift, the biggest pop star of the 21st century so far, attracted untold millions of mostly female Gen Z viewers to the CBS Sports broadcast who normally wouldn’t have watched.

“Taylor Swift has done in a few months what my father has tried to do for 23 years,” tweeted @jmckenzziee. “I am paying attention to the Super Bowl completely willingly.”

“For the first time in a couple of decades, I am staying up in the middle of the night to watch the Taylor Swift Bowl … er Super Bowl,” echoed Twitter/X user @rnadworny.

After touching down at 3:30 p.m. PT, Swift spent the night in Los Angeles, then took another private jet to Las Vegas the next day.

Swift landed at Harry Reid International Airport on Sunday afternoon — as reported by a press release distributed by the NFL (!!) on Sunday at 2:48 p.m. — in plenty of time to make the game and cheer on her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

CBS Sports cameras flashed to Swift, watching the game in a private suite with friends and family members, a total of 12 times during the broadcast, which was the subject of a popular Super Bowl prop bet.

Photographed inside Swift’s suite were musicians Lana Del Rey and Ice Spice, actress Blake Lively, and even former Beatle Paul McCartney, who popped in to say hello with his third wife, Nancy.

Swift’s total screen time during the game was 53 seconds which, if it were a Super Bowl commercial that long, would have cost $7 million.

Reciprocity

Judging by the social media numbers, the Super Bowl was awesome right back to Taylor Swift. According to digital tracker Social Blade, the megastar gained more Instagram followers on Sunday (about 105,000) just for showing up than Kelce (61,000) and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (41,000) did for actually winning the game combined.

“Damn no Taylor Swift, thank you lol, ruining my Superbowl,” @uaintime813 tweeted.

“Taylor Swift is ruining my Super Bowl entertainment. I’m not trying to see her every 2 minutes,” echoed @_Ayrton21_.

But this sentiment was the exception.

The post Taylor Swift’s Super Bowl Ratings Boost appeared first on Casino.org.

GeoComply assists legal online casino and sportsbook platforms in identifying the location of their customers before allowing them to wager via the internet. The company’s proprietary PinPoint technology uses Wi-Fi, GPS, and cellphone tower signals to isolate a customer’s location to ensure they’re located where such legal gaming is permitted, and the operator is licensed to facilitate the bet.

GeoComply told Casino.org after the Chiefs’ 25-22 win over the San Francisco 49ers that online sportsbook geolocation checks surged more than 22% during the Super Bowl weekend.

The continued transition to the legal market set the stage for a historic first Super Bowl in Las Vegas, and the record-breaking results we saw did not disappoint,” said Anna Sainsbury, CEO and cofounder of GeoComply. “We are proud to help foster the growth of a regulated industry that puts accountability, security, and player protection at the forefront.”

The Chiefs were the underdog, with most books having the defending champs being spotted two points. The total went to the under by the narrowest of margins, as the 47 total points fell just below the 47.5 over/under BetMGM had before kickoff.

Kansas City has won three of the past five Super Bowls, and played in four. Patrick Mahomes’ only loss in the big game came against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Super Bowl LV. Mahomes’ three Super Bowl wins rank fourth all-time behind Brady at seven, and Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana at four.

Sports Betting Expansion

GeoComply provides geolocation services in 27 U.S. states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

“Compliance drives our mission, and with that commitment, we strive to help our customers reliably and responsibly expand the player funnel and boost their businesses. Every year the legal market grows is good news for consumers and states, and bad news for illegal offshore sportsbooks that become marginalized,” added Sainsbury.

Perhaps partly because of the Taylor Swift effect, the NFL season was wildly successful for legal sports betting operators. GeoComply says more than 13.7 million new sportsbook accounts were created since the 2023/24 season began back in September, a 28% increase from last season.

Teams in Nonsports Betting States

Chiefs and Niners fans living in Missouri and California were legally barred from placing a Super Bowl LVIII bet in the teams’ home states.

GeoComply said many Californians traveled to Nevada, Oregon, or Arizona. The firm said many Missourians ventured into Kansas, where online sportsbooks are legal.

Since the last Super Bowl, several new internet sports betting states have come online, including Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The other states where legal wagers were made during Super Bowl LVIII were Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Next year’s Super Bowl will include at least one additional online sports betting state — North Carolina — and possibly, Florida.

The post Super Bowl Sports Betting Activity Soars, Says Geolocation Service appeared first on Casino.org.

It’s not that the bet is astronomically large, but that it was placed by someone plagued with notoriously bad luck as a sports prognosticator: Drake.

Beneath the betting slip Drake posted on Instagram on February 9, the Canadian rapper wrote: “I can’t bet against the swifties.”

Drake’s Curse

“Drake Curse” has become a popular belief that any athlete or team receiving his support will lose the sporting event in which they’re participating. This curse, which was invented because Drake makes a public display of all his large sports bets, is now even believed to afflict athletes if Drake is only seen in a photo wearing their jersey.

On January 20, believers of the curse point out that Drake placed $700,000 on middleweight UFC champ Sean Strickland, who then proceeded to lose his middleweight title to Dricus du Plessis. Drake also lost betting against Strickland. On September 9, he lost $500,000? wagering that Israel Adesanya would beat Strickland in UFC 293.

Among other multiple losses last year, the Canadian rapper lost a $1.3 million payout by betting on boxer Logan Paul to beat Dillon Danis with a knockout. (Danis was disqualified.)

In 2022, Drake’s losses on sports bets amounted to a reported $4 million. This includes losing $1 million on Argentina’s victory over France in the 2022 World Cup final. Some reports claim he wagered more than $2 billion in two months of the same year.

Drake News

While it’s clear that Drake is much better at making music than he is at knowing who to place sports wagers on, there is, of course, no such thing as a curse. And as with all baseless superstitions, the dark cloud around Drake ignores all facts that fly in its face.

In last year’s Super Bowl, for example, Drake bet $700,00 on the Chiefs to win outright over the Eagles, which netted him $777,000. Also last year, he correctly picked the Denver Nuggets to win the 2023 NBA title, earning $830,000.

But have you ever tried talking someone out of a baseless superstition? Some people, for instance, are thoroughly convinced that Super Bowl LVIII is rigged in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs. The game is viewed as part of a covert operation to sway the 2024 presidential election.

If the 49ers get their revenge and win?this Super Bowl, Chiefs fans will have someone they can blame, even though it most certainly won’t be Drake’s fault.

The post Super Bowl $1M Bet Has Chiefs Fans Fearing ‘Drake Curse’ appeared first on Casino.org.

That’s the estimate of Macquarie analyst Chad Beynon who arrives at that forecast by estimating that 10% of the more than 160 million adults in the US living in jurisdictions in which sports betting is legal will bet an average of $90 on the Super Bowl. The American Gaming Association (AGA) estimates 68 million American adults will wager an average of $337 on the game, generating $23 billion in bets.

Additionally, novice industry observers and investors should note the difference between handle and revenue. Handle is the total amount bet on a game. Revenue is what the gaming companies retain after paying the winners.

Books Want 49ers in Low-Scoring Affair

As of this writing, the San Francisco 49ers are two-point favorites over the Kansas City Chiefs with an over/under of 47.5, according to BetMGM data.

With the Chiefs commanding a massive majority of the bets and the money on the Super Bowl and with bettors’ proclivity for wagering on overs, the desired outcome for sportsbook operators is a 49ers win in low-scoring (under 48) fashion, noted Beynon.

~65% of public bettors are taking the KC Chiefs to win on both the Spread and Moneyline, in addition to ~65% of public bettors taking the Over on the total which sits at 47.5 points. We think sportsbooks will look to reduce this liability as most bets come in closer to kickoff,” observed the analyst.

He added? that publicly traded online sportsbook operators such as DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG), Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN), and Rush Street Interactive (NYSE: RSI), among others, “will have up to high-single digit revenue growth upside/downside to consensus estimates” depending on Super Bowl outcome.

Deeper Dive on DraftKings

DraftKings remains the largest pure-play, US-based iGaming and sportsbook operator as measured by market capitalization. As such, the stock is a bellwether for the industry. That coupled with the status of the Super Bowl as the most wagered on sporting event in the US should have the stock in the spotlight following the game.

Beynon said the Super Bowl could stoke as much as 8% upside or 9% downside to consensus first-quarter estimates on DraftKings.

“We note that these results are for North America Online segments/companies only. DraftKings and FanDuel have the largest swings to each outcome given their higher relative proportion of revenue derived from OSB over iGaming compared to other operators,” concluded the Macquarie analyst.

FanDuel is a unit of Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT).

The post Super Bowl Could Draw $1.5B+ Handle, Books Want 49ers to Win, Says Macquarie appeared first on Casino.org.

Mayweather, 46, was among the highest-paid athletes during his active years and has habitually used social media to flaunt his extravagant expenditures. They include the $6.4M he’s spent on luxury watches, the $10M he shelled out for ex-fianceé Shantel Jackson’s engagement ring, and the $600K he spent to fly 300 friends and family members to his 2013 fight against Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas.

Even He? Couldn’t Get Comped?

Are tickets to the first Las Vegas Super Bowl really so hard to come by that even sports celebrities like Mayweather can’t find comps?

No. Mayweather for sure could have landed free seats for himself and a handful or two of his friends. The NFL, just like all event promoters, reserves a cache of house seats just for celebrities and their last-minute requests.

However, Mayweather’s suite holds 34 people, which might have been a tall order to comp, even for someone of his renown.

More importantly, Mayweather appears to have paid mostly for bragging rights. Check out his Instagram caption…

“I don’t kiss a** and I never have to beg for nothing especially not to get a Super Bowl suite. I don’t mind accepting invites at times, but one things for sure … The person that’s paying does all the saying. Therefore I get My Own seats and suites so I can do what I want and invite who I want! I’m blessed to be taking 34 people to experience the 1st Super Bowl in Las Vegas!”

Even nosebleed seats are averaging $8,600 each, with suites like Mayweather’s going for as much as $2.5M.

Looks like Money Mayweather got in while that suite was a bargain!

The post Floyd Mayweather Drops More than $1M on Super Bowl Suite appeared first on Casino.org.

“All you guys do on and off the field is truly remarkable,” the 39-year-old royal told the crowd. “You are role models for millions in the way you carry yourselves and in the way you give back.”

The Duke of Sussex presented the Man of the Year Award, the highest honor of the night, to Cameron Heyward of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Harry referred to Heyward as “a player who goes above and beyond” and noted that his “extraordinary commitment to helping others is a reflection of his own story.”

The 34-year-old defensive tackle founded the Heyward House in 2015 to help children with challenging home-life situations. Heyward, who lost his father as a teen, suffered from severe asthma as a child and didn’t believe he would ever play a sport.

“Oh, man!” Heyward said when he accepted the award. “Man! Prince freaking Harry! Man, I’m in shock. That’s Prince Harry!”

Harry’s appearance in Las Vegas was especially surprising since he had made global headlines a day earlier for jetting to Britain to see his father, King Charles III, following a statement from Buckingham Palace on Monday that the monarch was being treated for cancer.

Before awarding Heyward, Harry joked about football’s debt to a favorite British pastime.

I really love how you stole rugby from us and you made it your own,” he said. “Instead of passing it backwards, just pass it forwards. Why not wear pads and a helmet? Of course, have an offense and defense — that makes sense. And why not take a breather every 15 seconds?

“And you know what? Instead of a 10-month season, let’s just make it 18 weeks. Genius!”

The post Prince Harry Shocks NFL Players by Appearing at Super Bowl Honors appeared first on Casino.org.

“Me and my team have been preparing something truly special for months, but a personal family emergency is forcing me to return home Sunday morning,” the 55-year-old superstar DJ wrote on Thursday.

Born Ryan Gary Raddon 52 years ago in Chicago, Kaskade was voted “America’s Best DJ” by DJ Times in 2011 and 2013.

“As a kid who grew up in Chicago watching the NFL Super Bowl every year with my family, this chance to actually be part of it is absolutely mind-blowing,” the music producer and DJ tweeted on Thursday. “Las Vegas has been my second home for the past decade … To be able to be the first electronic musician to be part of the full game experience of the Super Bowl held in Las Vegas seems like coming home, and I’m beyond excited to represent my community.”

Tiesto said it was a “tough decision: but that “family always comes first.” The nature of the emergency wasn’t disclosed.

Super Bowl LVIII’s other musical performers will include a halftime show by Usher featuring special guests. Before the game, Reba McEntire will sing the National Anthem, Post Malone will perform America the Beautiful, and Andra Day will sing Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.

The post DJ Tiesto Pulls Out of Super Bowl, Replacement Announced appeared first on Casino.org.

TMZ has learned, because they always know everything, that the 49ers’ victory party will be at Omnia Nightclub at Caesars Palace, while the Chiefs’ will be at Zouk Nightclub inside Resorts World.

Of course, one team will lose, so only one of these wild victory bashes will occur. However, mentally preparing for the big game includes denying that losing is even a remote possibility. So both sets of plans had to be firmed up in advance.

Anyone undecided on which team to root for should probably become a Chiefs fan. That’s because, in addition to Grammy-winning duo the Chainsmokers, who partied with quarterback Patrick Mahomes following the Chiefs’ victory last year, the live entertainment could very well include a song or two from tight end Travis Kelce’s girlfriend, what’s-her-name.

Omnia’s Sunday night lineup is such a secret, even TMZ doesn’t know it yet. But there’s?no way?it can top even the possibility of a Taylor Swift performance.

Not that any of this information will help you gain entrance to the winning victory party if you haven’t already been invited and you aren’t already Leo DiCaprio or Katy Perry.

Because of concerns about riots and terrorism, security will be tighter than anything Las Vegas has ever seen before, with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and FBI agents stationed at all invite-only Super Bowl events.

By the way, even if there is a Super Bowl “losing” party — which there won’t be because there never is — you don’t want to be there anyway. None of the players will attend and all the DJ will play is Morrissey and Elliott Smith.

The post Where the Super Bowl Winners Will Party in Las Vegas appeared first on Casino.org.

ESPN’s Joe Buck said that “something” will happen to distract the players and fans from the big game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday and that it will be “a mess.”

There’s going to be some story, there’s gonna be something that happens because it’s Vegas, and it won’t stay in Vegas,” Buck said during a Monday appearance on “The Opening Drive on 101 ESPN in St. Louis. “It’s gonna be a big something that happens.”

Buck wouldn’t elaborate on what that big something will be.

“I just think that is going to be a mess in my mind,” he said, adding that he’s happy he won’t be in Vegas to see it happen personally.

“I’m not that way,” he said. I’m not looking for the Maxim party and going out all night. It’s just not my thing, and then you combine that with Vegas….”

OK, Boomer

CBS Sports analyst Boomer Esiason had essentially the same impending sense of doom when asked what Las Vegas brings to the Super Bowl.

“Trouble,” he told a reporter in the press room on Tuesday. “You know, they did keep (all the leagues) out of here all those years for a reason, when you think about it … before all this gambling became legal.”

Esiason came to sportscasting after a long career quarterbacking with the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals, saying, “We’re playing with fire, almost.”

“I’m loving every minute of it,” he said. “But I’m not playing, and I’m not distracted. I would have kept them in Arizona myself. Keep everybody out of here until the game. Get them here on the morning of the game.”

Already this week, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Janarius Robinson was arrested on the Las Vegas Strip on suspicion of DUI, according to multiple reports.

What Happened in Phoenix

Even without Vegas, trouble seems to find the Super Bowl. Last year, when the Chiefs beat the Eagles, 38-35, at State Farm Stadium, headlines focused on lewd comments allegedly made by former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin toward a female employee of a Marriott hotel.

Irvin was temporarily pulled from the NFL Network’s Super Bowl coverage. He later brought a $100M defamation lawsuit against the hotel chain, which was settled out of court, according to the Dallas Morning News.

The post Two Sportscasters Claim Super Bowl Will Regret Las Vegas Visit appeared first on Casino.org.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce rented the opulent villa on Lake Las Vegas because it’s a short distance from the Westin Lake Las Vegas, where his teammates are staying before the big game. While the Chiefs’ hotel is plenty posh, Kelce quite understandably wanted more privacy than it offers.

Kelce arrived in Las Vegas on Sunday night. Swift’s private jet is expected to land in Las Vegas from an “Eras Tour” concert in Tokyo around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, barring any unfortunate delays.

The isolated mansion, behind a guarded gate in one of Lake Las Vegas’ newest communities, features four bedrooms and six bathrooms in nearly 9K square feet of living space, with 300 feet of private waterfront.

No Sinning

Both teams are being housed/detained in Lake Las Vegas, 25 miles east of the Las Vegas Strip, with daily getaways only to separate practice facilities.

This is so the temptations of Sin City don’t distract any players from their strenuous physical and mental preparations.

Lake Las Vegas features a dozen fancy restaurants and a couple of bars but no nightclubs or wild nightlife.

It used to have a casino with a sportsbook, which definitely would have been a no-no for both Super Bowl teams. (The NFL once prohibited its players from wagering on any sports games. That meant an active player couldn’t even visit Las Vegas and place a bet on the NBA playoffs. However, the league has relaxed its rules and NFL players are allowed to place bets that aren’t on football.)

However, Casino MonteLago closed in 2013.

Team Hideouts

The San Francisco 49ers are staying at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas, a mile southeast and across the lake.

While the Chiefs are practicing at the Raiders’ nearby Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center in Henderson, the 49ers have a farther drive.

They’re 16 miles away, at UNLV’s Intramural Field, where the Raiders’ opponents always practice. This is because the AFC and NFC champs alternate home and away designations every Super Bowl.

Lake Las Vegas is also home to Celine Dion, who raised her three sons while performing two residencies at Caesars Palace.

Sorry, Swifties. Lake Las Vegas is currently crawling with police, who are guarding both hotels and the villa.

The post Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Las Vegas Super Bowl Hideout Revealed appeared first on Casino.org.

As Bellagio Lake gets remade into a hub for national CBS Sports coverage — including the Luxor? wrapped as a giant Dorito — the NFL and Las Vegas might seem to many like a natural fit. But until 2015, the idea of Las Vegas ever even hosting a professional sports team seemed like a foolish bet to take.

Size Matters

Though Sin City had been a major tourist destination since the 1950s, its local population was the first stumbling block. Clark County wouldn’t even boast half a million residents until 1982. That wasn’t considered nearly enough of a home base by any of the four major professional sports leagues.

So, like many other residents of secondary US cities, Las Vegans learned not to set their hopes any higher than the minor leagues.

However, the population of the Las Vegas metropolitan region reached 1 million in 1995, then doubled that by 2009, growing at the third-fastest rate in the country. Suddenly, Las Vegas was one of the largest U.S. cities without a major league sports team.

And that’s because population wasn’t the only issue.

Don’t Bet on It

The pro leagues simply wouldn’t consider Las Vegas for a relocation or expansion team. That’s because it seemed too risky to place a team where sports betting was not only legal, but part of the community’s lifeblood. Since the mid-1990s, dozens of pro-league presidents and team owners have uttered some variation of the “it’ll never happen” quote.

That’s because sports fans can forgive bigotry, harassment, and even some serious crimes committed by players and coaches. But when it comes to betting on the outcomes of events in which they participate, even the appearance of impropriety was a line that couldn’t be crossed. It’s why the names Pete Rose and the Chicago Black Sox have never exited the public consciousness.

Of all the pro leagues, the NFL had the toughest stance toward Las Vegas.

Before the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the federal ban on sports betting in 2018, the NFL prohibited its players from wagering on any sports games. That meant an active player couldn’t even visit Las Vegas and place a bet on a March Madness game or bet on the NBA playoffs.

“The NFL cannot be compensated in damages for the harm sports gambling poses to the goodwill, character, and integrity of NFL football and to the fundamental bonds of loyalty and devotion between fans and team that the League seeks to maintain.”

That’s what future NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, then its senior VP of broadcasting, wrote in 2012 testimony for a lawsuit to block then-New Jersey governor Chris Christie’s bid to legalize sports betting in his state.

A Different Game

The tide began changing in 2015. That’s when Raiders owner Mark Davis now admits to secretly meeting with Bo Bernhard, then director of the UNLV International Gaming Institute. That meeting resulted in a white paper Davis took to the league to make his case for Las Vegas as an NFL town.

NFL owners approved the Raiders’ plans to relocate from Oakland two years later. That same year, the Las Vegas Golden Knights NHL team proved that professional sports could survive in Las Vegas without a betting scandal and thrive.

The pro leagues’ sudden about-face on Las Vegas also resulted from changing political and technological landscapes.

After the Supreme Court decision, states beyond Nevada lined up to legalize sports betting. It’s legal in 38 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. With betting now just a couple of clicks of a smartphone away for most adults, Las Vegas and its casinos no longer pose the same unique brand of existential threat.

“It was our job to make sure we react to the world around us,” David Highhill, the NFL’s general manager for sports betting, told ABC News.

The post Why the NFL Once Shunned Las Vegas and Why That Changed appeared first on Casino.org.

Over the weekend, the Culinary Union dropped its threatened Monday morning walkout by casino workers. That’s after union representatives agreed to a five-year tentative contract with Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino on Sunday night. Almost 200 rank-and-file hospitality workers still have to ratify the deal.

Golden Nugget Las Vegas Hotel & Casino also reached a tentative contract with the Culinary Union this weekend.

Union negotiations will continue with Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, the last local property without a contract for its hospitality workers.

“As negotiations continue to progress, the Culinary and Bartenders Unions have decided to give Virgin Hotel Las Vegas more time and we expect a resolution on a new contract in the coming weeks,” Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said in a weekend statement.

Historic Deals

Over recent months, the Culinary Union reached “historic” agreements with multiple other Las Vegas properties and casino companies.

These were tough negotiations, and it took over two years of preparation, 10 months of negotiations, lots of hard work, committee meetings, sleepless nights, and worker-led organizing,” Pappageorge recalled in the statement.

Last week, Culinary Union members and management at Fremont Hotel & Casino, the Rio Hotel & Casino, Main Street Station Casino, Brewery & Hotel, Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel, and the Four Queens Resort and Casino also reached tentative five-year contracts. That came soon after last year’s deal that averted a November Culinary Union strike against Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, and Wynn Resorts just days before the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix race.

Under the contracts with the three companies, every worker will receive a 10% wage increase in the deal’s first year. They will get 32% in salary increases over the contract’s life.

Recent settlements with other properties are believed to have similar stipulations. Other worker wins include daily housekeeping, protections from automation, and improved safety.

The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and the Bartenders Union Local 165 have some 60K members. They include bartenders, bellmen, cocktail and food servers, cooks, guest room attendants, laundry and kitchen workers, and porters.

Transit Contract

Local bus drivers and bus mechanics also threatened to go out on strike before the Super Bowl.

Transdev, which operates the public bus service for the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Southern Nevada, and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1637, have been negotiating for months to reach an agreement. The recent tentative deal still needs the approval of some 1,200 rank-and-file union members.

If RTC drivers had gone through with the strike, it could have led to chaos for many of the 330K visitors expected for the big game.

The Super Bowl will be played Sunday at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. Numerous related events will take place this week.

The post Las Vegas Hospitality Staff, Drivers Cancel Strikes Prior to Super Bowl appeared first on Casino.org.

Construction worker and diehard Chiefs fan Chris Scherzer had posted a photo to Facebook of a coworker holding the flag, which read, “Chiefs Kingdom.” The photo’s caption declared: “Flag buried in dirt, encased in concrete, with a stadium built on top of it … Chiefs 1, Raiders 0.”

Scherzer had long hidden the identity of the man he photographed, claiming that “People are trying to get him fired over it.”

The man supposedly buried the flag as a bad-luck charm for the Raiders, whose rivalry with the Chiefs dates to the AFL and is one of the NFL’s bitterest, tracing back to their first meeting of the 1970 season.

In that game, Chiefs wide receiver Otis Taylor attacked Raiders defensive end Ben Davison for diving into Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson with his helmet as he fell to the ground during a first down.

A bench-clearing brawl ensued.

As soon as it came down to the Chiefs v. the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium, concern over the buried flag reached new?heights — primarily among 49ers fans. Even USA Today ran an article repeating the story on January 29.

False Flag

The myth was finally busted by KLAS-TV/Las Vegas on January 30.

It turns out, the construction worker’s name was Gerard DeCosta, and he and his friend lied about burying the flag he held up in the photo.

Local labor union leader Tommy White, who oversaw construction of the stadium, told KLAS that he’s known about the hoax for years. He tracked down DeCosta as soon as former Raiders president Marc Badain called him, demanding to know if the Facebook post was true.

White said DeCosta admitted to the prank and gave him the flag, proving his story.

“He just told me the full story about it,” White told? KLAS, posing with the flag. “This is his flag. It’s never been buried.”

Look for “Vegas Myths Busted” every Monday on Casino.org. Visit VegasMythsBusted.com?to read previously busted Vegas myths. Got a suggestion for a Vegas myth that needs busting? Email [email protected].

The post VEGAS MYTHS BUSTED: A Kansas City Chiefs Flag is Buried Under Allegiant Stadium appeared first on Casino.org.

That’s according to Eilers & Krejeck Gaming (EKG), which noted that the Super Bowl is the most wagered-on sporting event in the U.S., accounting for 1% of total handle in this country. In highlighting its $1.25 billion forecast, the research firm said it’s not making a revenue projection because there is lumpiness in such forecasts.

Interestingly, EKG also observed that the primary objective for sportsbook operators with the Super Bowl isn’t so much to make money as it is to acquire new customers and cross-sell other products to those bettors and/or “reactivate” them when the next football season commences. EKG added that in-game or live betting will be a significant contributor at 10% to 15% of Super Bowl handle this year.

That mark is below broader industry averages,” noted the firm. “FanDuel, for example, has previously disclosed that around 44% of handle comes from in-play. However, on in-play, football skews lower and the Super Bowl even lower still due to the high number of recreational customers who overwhelmingly favor pre-match betting.”

The online sports wagering industry has endured some well-documented technological snafus over the past several years, and righting that ship is essential in fostering customer confidence and gaining share in high-growth niches, such as same-game parlays (SGPs) and live betting.

Nevada, New York to Lead State-Level Handle

With Las Vegas playing host to the Super Bowl and the city’s status as the casino hub of the U.S., it’s not surprising that Nevada is expected to be the state-level handle leader.

There are some other interesting state-level observations. For example, EKG estimates about 3% of Super Bowl handle will come from Michigan, putting the state behind Arizona, Maryland, Colorado, Virginia, and Massachusetts by that metric, even though Michigan has a larger population than that quintet.

As of last Friday, the AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs were attracting the bulk of pregame Super Bowl bets. That’s in a vast majority of states in which the major online sportsbook operators do business.

Same-Game Parlays Could Be Huge

EKG estimated that same-game parlays could account for up to 25% of Super Bowl handle this year.

We think the number will be even higher at FanDuel and a tick below at DraftKings,” EKG noted.

The firm added that 50% of revenue for those operators during conference championship weekend was derived from same-game parlays. But that percentage is volatile on a week-to-week basis.

The post Super Bowl to Generate $1.25B in Regulated Bets, Nevada, NY to Lead appeared first on Casino.org.