I understand many people are anxious to get out and gamble again, but this seems pretty ridiculous given that the pandemic isn’t over yet . . .

One year after the Supreme Court opened the floodgates to states allowing sports gambling, New Jersey is killing it with sports bets. The casinos and racetracks in New Jersey that take sports bets took almost $314 million of sports bets in April. That’s 6 months in a row that sports wagering exceeded $300 million.

More states are rushing to add sports gambling, which will change this landscape considerably. It will be interesting to see how this affects the sportsbooks in Las Vegas, and also if New Jersey slows down as more states get in on the action.

On the other hands, the sports leagues and broadcasters are going all in as well with more content for betters, so we should see this market grow considerably.

For gamblers in many states, you’ll no longer need to go to Las Vegas when you want to have a fun weekend in the sportsbook. That will be a treat for many of us!

When you think about the planet’s premier gambling destinations, two immediately spring to mind: Las Vegas and Macau. It’s often forgotten that the UK has some exceptional gaming facilities too – particularly for the highest rollers around.

Contrary to their Far-Eastern and Far-Western counterparts, the British Isle’s most exclusive cardrooms and table games aren’t found within the walls of existing casinos. Those wishing to play for the highest stakes in the most elegant surroundings must first obtain membership at one of a select number of high roller casinos and clubs. These are mostly concentrated around the capital city of London. Like in Nevada or Macau, a large enough stack of notes is usually enough to grant access. However, some are more restrictive still.

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Get ready for sports betting at New Jersey casinos and race tracks. Governor Christie just signed the new bill into law, and it will be interesting to see if sports leagues like the NFL or the feds try to stop this.

The casinos in Atlantic City have been decimated as more states permit casino gambling, so now they may have sportsbooks to differentiate them again. Hell, I’m even tempted to go there now!

Let’s hope this sticks.

So who do you have today? The Broncos or the Seahawks? It’s the biggest sports betting day of the year, and there will be tons of high rollers in Las Vegas, New York and around the country laying money on the game or one of the many prop bets.

Here’s an interesting article on how the lines get set. High rollers of course already know how this works, but the article is pretty good at explaining it and also telling some good stories, like this one:

The handicapper predicts what team will win; the bookmaker doesn’t care who wins. So when Super Bowl XXIII rolled around and the San Francisco 49ers were a 7-point favorite against the Cincinnati Bengals, Gaughan — the man who revolutionized sports bookmaking in Vegas — decided to split the action.

You could have the 49ers at minus-6.5 or the Bengals plus-7.5 at Gaughan’s Barbary Coast property. He’d make the game attractive to both sides, drive as much money on the game as possible, and would likely win on either side. The only way he’d lose — and potentially lose big — was if the 49ers won by 7 and he had to pay both sides.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Bengals led the 49ers 13-6, with the game sitting on that disastrous 7-point margin. Two San Francisco touchdowns would have cost him $18 million.

It wasn’t until three minutes remained in the game, when the Bengals kicked a field goal to go up 16-13, that the game moved off a potential 7-point margin.

“I was in bed with the covers over my head,” Gaughan said. “I’d still be paying it off today.”

Check it out.