Sports Betting Frenzy Kicks Off In New Jersey With NFL's Return
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – The start of the NFL season has found a new level of excitement in New Jersey, as gamblers crowd into new legal betting sites to place wagers on the new season.
"I will be here weekly, every week," Leon Dubi said while at Monmouth Racetrack.
Dubi and many others didn't want to miss out on making a wager on the first game of the football season now that sports betting is legal in the state.
"I put 100 to win the thousand, 10-to-1 odds, that's what I just did," Dubi told CBS2's Dave Carlin.
An even larger crowd filed into the new Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment Complex Thursday; the closest spot to New York City for placing bets in person.
"You can't go crazy here. A few dollars here and there but you can't bet your mortgage," Danny Delgado of Hackensack added.
Delgado added that he plans to make this a regular trip. Placing bets, grabbing food, and enjoying NFL football at the Meadowlands – which is expected to be packed on game days.
Gaming analysts predict New Jersey's sports betting revenues will overtake Las Vegas and the rest of Nevada by the year 2021 - raking in more than $450 million that year.
Despite some opposition to the Supreme Court overturning a ban on gambling across New Jersey, state officials insist both children and adults in the state will benefit from the revenues legalized gambling brings in.