Football Fans Thrilled To Legally Place Bets On Giants' Opener

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Meadowlands Racetrack was bustling for the first NFL Sunday of the season.

And Giants fans wasted no time placing their bets on Big Blue.

But did they leave with a little extra money in their pockets?

"Being here is fun," Andrew Evans of Princeton told CBS2's Dave Carlin.

Evans had a fistful of football bets, still warm out of the machines at Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment.

Evans was smiling.

"I'm ahead about $500 now. I put in a lot of money, but I'm ahead $500," he said.

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In the same lounge, looking at some of the same video monitors was Jamar Lyn of Lodi. He was hurting Sunday night after supporting the home team.

"I put money on them. They cost me a lot of money. I don't like the Giants," Lyn said.

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Tailgating outside MetLife Stadium was "Alex," who asked CBS2 not use his last name. He said betting against the Giants paid off. By going with the Jacksonville Jaguars instead he was one happy man, surrounded by others not feeling the same way.

When asked how much money he made, Alex said, "A little something here. I can't say because the wife's probably watching."

To make that winning bet, he said he left his parking lot on one of the shuttle buses, zipping back and forth to the racetrack.

It was a short journey that some did not find necessary. Placing bets without having to come in person was happening online.

"I felt it was a lot easier on the app. I felt this was a lot more convenient," said Patrick Mitchell of New Milford, New Jersey

The state of New Jersey is raking in revenues after a start-of-the-summer Supreme Court win.

With sports betting legal, gaming analysts predict the Garden State will enough to blow past Nevada and Las Vegas by 2021, CBS2's Carlin reported.