Casino Gambling At The Meadowlands

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Hard Rock International, Gural's partner in the Meadowlands casino venture, recently bought the shuttered Trump Taj Mahal casino and will reopen it in summer 2018.

The FanDuel Sportsbook at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey began accepting sports bets on July 14. In its first nine days of operation, Meadowlands took sports wagers totaling $3.5 million.

“We did OK,” Jeff Gural, operatory of Meadowlands Racetrack said Monday to the Associated Press. “Our goal the first weekend was to exceed $1 million which we did. The next four days were quiet with nothing to bet on due to the All-Star break.”

Overall, Gural is happy with the initial figures “despite the fact that we are not at full strength and only have 10 live teller windows open.”

Most of the sports bets came from a period on the sports calendar where there was very little to bet on. Baseball was on its All-Star break, France already claimed the World Cup title, and football and hockey are months away from their season openers.

Baseball did resume over the past weekend, and the track reportedly took in over $650,000 of bets on Saturday, with more coming in on Sunday.

Victory is sweetest with football on the board

Sports betting at the FanDuel Sportsbook at the Meadowlands takes place in the Victory Lounge. It expects to expand its operation to include 15 cashiers and 65 TVs by the beginning of football season.

Football season is typically the busiest for sportsbooks and Meadowlands is positioned to capitalize on that more than most. Meadowlands Racetrack is part of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, which includes the MetLife Stadium, home to the NFL’s NY Jets and Giants.

For now, the sportsbook won’t operate during NY Jets or NY Giants home games. Meadowlands is currently trying to reach an agreement with the NFL, which fiercely opposes sports betting.

“Hopefully by football season, you’ll be able to bet on every play,” said Gural to the New York Post.

Meadowlands tempting New York sports bettors

Casino Gambling At The Meadowlands

Meadowlands is the closest legal sports betting venue to New York. In fact, 12 million people live within a 20-mile radius of the racetrack.

New York has had its share of troubles trying to get sports betting legislation passed. It doesn’t look like anything is happening on that front in the near future and certainly not in time for football season.

With Meadowlands just 30 minutes by car away, sports bettors from the Big Apple now have a place to spend their time and place their bets while rooting on their favorite teams.

There are other options for New York sports betting enthusiasts to place wagers in the neighboring state of New Jersey. While none are as close as the Meadowlands, those that want to make a weekend out of it have a few venues to choose from.

Monmouth Park Sports Book by William Hill located in Oceanport and Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City began accepting sports bets on June 14. TheWilliam Hill Sportsbook at Ocean Resort Casino opened during Ocean Resort’s grand opening on June 28.

Initial New Jersey sports betting revenue is positive

The FanDuel Sportsbook at the Meadowlands is the fourth sports betting operation to launch since Gov. Phil Murphysigned legislation legalizing sports betting in the Garden State on June 11.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) released the first sports betting revenue figures earlier this month. The report included the two weeks of operation in June after sports betting became legal.

The sports betting industry took in a total of $16.4 million in sports bets during the first two weeks and operators earned nearly $3.5 million in revenue.

Winning At Casino Gambling

The revenue broke down like this:

  • Monmouth Park: $2,279,166
  • Borgata: $986,831
  • Ocean Resort Casino: $192,671 (open for three days)

The DGE doesn’t break down handle (the total amount of sports bets) by operator, so it is hard to compare Meadowlands first nine days to the first two weeks at Monmouth Park and Borgata.

What we do know is by the end of its first day in business, Meadowlands took in $560,000 in sports bets. On average during its initial 17 days of sports betting, Monmouth Park brought in $480,954.

On the surface, Gural has every reason to be pleased. Location is everything, at least until mobile sports betting launches. Meadowlands is in the perfect place to lure both New York and New Jersey football fans to its sportsbook and it is primed to take the lead in New Jersey sports betting.

Meadowlands Racetrack has entered the fast lane to join legalized sports betting in New Jersey. And in the driver’s seat — and primed to benefit from slow legislation in New York — is track owner and CEO Jeff Gural.

With NJ sports betting in full swing in the Garden State, Meadowlands has set a target date to get in on the action: July 15. And when the racetrack opens its doors to accept single-game wagering, the facility could enjoy a boom in business from its neighbors to the west.

Meadowlands NJ sports betting joins the party

Since the US Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in May, New Jersey casinos and racetracks have been champing at the bit to get in on sports betting.

Monmouth Park racetrack and Borgata in Atlantic City went live with single-game wagering earlier this month. Now, Meadowlands is ready to roll out its sports betting services.

Initially, when the East Rutherford racetrack inked its partnership with bookmaker Betfair US earlier this month, the target date was “by the start of the NFL” season, according to Betfair CEO Kip Levin. (Gural, however, had indicated before that he would like to have his sportsbook operating within a month of the deal.)

Meadowlands casino and racetrack

If it is a fast-tracked opening — and even if it’s not — it is no coincidence, and the Meadowlands sits in a no-lose situation.

Racetrack reaps rewards of NY stumbling

Opening the doors to a sportsbook will not only attract New Jersey bettors. Thanks to a missed opportunity last week, Meadowlands will surely be welcoming in customers from the Empire State.

The New York Senate and Assembly both pushed bills through their respective houses last week. Lawmakers, however, did not reach a consensus on either. As a result, state legislators missed their Wednesday deadline to adopt sports betting regulations. Barring a special session, New York will not revisit the issue until 2019.

And Gural could not contain his excitement for that legislative fumble.

“New York did me such a favor by not passing sports betting,” Gural told the Associated Press. “That leaves me the entirety of New York City, Long Island, Westchester County. There are 15 million people that live within 20 miles of the Meadowlands. They gave me a tremendous gift.”

A leg up for Meadowlands

The financial future of Meadowlands had been murky, at best, for some time. For a number of years, subsidies from the New Jersey government allowed the racetrack — as well as others in the state — to stay afloat.

But when then-Gov. Chris Christie dissolved that program in 2011, Meadowlands was scrambling for alternative sources of revenue.

Even now, NJ sports betting is on a collision course with a potential stay in wagering. The Garden State government, pending an approved budget beforehand, will be shut downJune 30.

Gambling Casinos Online

State Sen. Chris Brown has urged Gov. Phil Murphy to keep casinos and racetracks open should there be such an event. Per New Jersey law, casinos and racetracks would be forced to close if a government shutdown lasts more than seven days, like what occurred 12 yearsago.

Casino Gambling Meadowlands Nj

“The 2006 shutdown of the casinos during the July 4th weekend was devastating,” Brown told the Press of Atlantic City. “It’s unbelievable to me that as our gaming industry is turning the corner and improving our local economy by putting families back to work, Trenton would force the casinos to shut their doors during the busiest time of the year.”

A signed executive order from Murphy designating casino and racetrack employees as “essential” would prevent those properties from shutting down. Christie did just that in 2010.

Meadowlands Casino And Racetrack

Should Murphy play eleventh-hour hero, the Meadowlands — seven years after struggling to keep its head above water — could be ready to rise from the ashes.