Tropicana Atlantic City gets in the game at long last.
On Oct. 25, Tropicana officially became the ninth retail sportsbook in New Jersey.
The Atlantic City casino applied for its NJ sports betting license in the first half of Oct. and opened its sports book just a few weeks later.
Seven of the nine sportsbooks are in Atlantic City casinos; two are at venues outside of the city. Sports bettors can have their pick of locations:
- Borgata
- Monmouth Park
- Ocean Resort Casino (now Caesars)
- Resorts
- Meadowlands
- Harrah’s
- Bally’s
- Golden Nugget
- Tropicana
William Hill Sports Book at Tropicana Atlantic City
Tropicana, and its new owner, Eldorado Resorts, both established relationships with William Hill (Caesars) US ahead of its application filing. The co-branding of the sportsbook follows the precedent set by William Hill’s connections to Monmouth Park and Ocean Resort Casino.
The North Tower Casino is where the action is at; however, the sportsbook is still temporary. Elsewhere on the property, William Hill and Tropicana are building a 5,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art sports book on the property.
Tropicana General Manager Steve Callender ahead of the opening said:
“A brand new venue is being created to host sports betting in the North Tower Casino, with kiosks located throughout the property. We are excited to share more details about Tropicana Atlantic City’s sports book in the coming weeks.”
For now, though, sports bettors can choose between a full list of betting options and watch games in sports-friendly environments including:
- Chickie’s & Pete’s
- A Dam Good Sports Bar
- Hooters
- Rí Rá Irish Pub
Tropicana’s first sports bet
Atlantic City resident Victor Groynom, placed the first bet at the new sportsbook. He wagered $20 on the money line for the Los Angeles Lakers to beat the Denver Nuggets on Thursday’s night NBA game. The Lakers pulled out the win, and Groynom collected $47.
Tropicana is betting its sportsbook will appeal to its local casino customer. It also hopes to attract a new demographic. Callender spoke to that in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer:
“I think it brings a new customer, especially the millennials who grew up playing fantasy sports and might not want to play slot machines or table games, but they’ll bet games. And there’s an existing market that will give people something else to do. We’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
Philadelphia Eagles‘ games will undoubtedly be the biggest draw for the sportsbook. Launching well into the NFL season caused the sportsbook to miss seven of its games.
Preseason optimism was at an all-time high for the Super Bowl champions. That optimism is tempered now that the Eagles are sporting a 4-4 record.
There is still plenty of play, though. The Eagles have three primetime games during the last half of the season, including one with the Dallas Cowboys.
NJ still has some sportsbooks to launch
It’s been four months since New Jersey legalized sports betting. Additionally, it has been two months since the last sportsbook opened.
Now, that Tropicana is live, look to Hard Rock Atlantic City to join the party sometime before the end of the year.
Around the same time of applying for its sports betting license, Hard Rock joined forced with Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) to power its sports betting platform.
That only leaves Caesars without plans for a retail sportsbook. Of course, two of the company’s other Atlantic City casinos, Harrah’s and Bally’s, already have sportsbooks operating.
Additionally, Caesars launched online sports betting in early September. So, it might be content to sit out a retail location at its Caesars’ property.
While there are only two retails sportsbooks left to launch, the online sports betting landscape is a little more open. There are four online sportsbooks with firm plans:
- Resorts Sportsbook
- Golden Nugget Sportsbook
- Bally’s
- Harrah’s
Not to mention, there are an additional four that are likely to launch online sports betting in the near future:
- Hard Rock
- Ocean Resort
- bet365
- Unibet
That will make New Jersey home to 16 online sportsbooks.
With one, maybe two, more retail locations and eight online sportsbooks left to launch, New Jersey sports betting news won’t be slowing down anytime soon.