ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey took in nearly $3.5 million in sports bets during its first nine days of accepting such bets.

And most of that came from two weekends that sandwiched a dead period for major professional sports caused by baseball’s All-Star break, the end of the NBA season and World Cup soccer, and with football and hockey seasons months away.

Meadowlands operator Jeff Gural told the Associated Press that it accepted just under $3.5 million worth of sports bets since it began taking them on July 14.

“We did OK,” Gural said Monday. “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.”

Gural said he is pleased with the track’s initial performance “despite the fact that we are not at full strength and only have 10 live teller windows open.”

So far, two tracks, the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park, and two Atlantic City casinos, the Borgata and Ocean Resort, offer sports betting in New Jersey. But many others have applied for permission to begin offering sports betting, in person and online, before the start of the NFL season in September.

New Jersey won a U.S. Supreme Court case on May 14 that cleared the way for all 50 states to offer legal sports betting should they so desire. It began offering sports betting June 14.

Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

Related Stories
Latest Articles