NFL-game bettors from Pa., NJ flock to Delaware

Nov. 03--A federal judge is keeping Monmouth Park from taking bets on sports for now, but frustrated gamblers from New Jersey can find plenty of places to bet on National Football League games a mere 100 miles down the turnpike.

In Delaware, you can bet on NFL games at any of the state's three racetrack casino complexes or more than 80 other businesses statewide, ranging from chain restaurants to mom-and-pop tobacco or liquor stores. At Naamans Beer, Wine & Spirits in Claymont and The Reef seafood and steak restaurant in Wilmington _ both just a few miles from New Jersey _ steady lines of bettors form on Sunday mornings to make game-day wagers, employees say.

Charley Ross, owner of The Reef, said NFL betting has been a "huge" revenue generator for his business since he added the gambling last year.

"It's not unusual for us to have $500 or $1,000 bets," said Ross, who gets 5 percent of the gambled money. "I had a guy win $168,000 on one bet last year. We have a number of clients from New Jersey who are big bettors, and even more from Pennsylvania. Sunday mornings, it's crazy _ they're lined up out the door all the way until the [1 p.m.] kickoff."

Delaware's experience provides a glimpse of what could be at stake in New Jersey's legal battle over plans to allow sports betting at racetracks and casinos in the state. The total wagered on NFL games in Delaware _ with barely one-tenth the population of New Jersey _ was $31.5 million last year, more than triple the mark set in 2009, according to Vernon Kirk, the director of the Delaware Lottery. Kirk added that the state's share was $5.2 million, with casinos and the state's horsemen also getting a portion of the net revenues after expenses.

The New Jersey state law that is being challenged in court by the NFL and four other sports organizations could produce exponentially more sports betting, proponents say. Almost $11 billion could be bet in New Jersey annually, according to Monmouth Park track operator Dennis Drazin.

Beyond the much larger population, New Jersey's plan would allow betting on more sports than just the NFL. And Delaware gamblers are limited to "parlay" betting, with each bet requiring the choice of winners in at least three games. Those bets are much more difficult to win but bring with them higher payoffs, attracting more casual participants, compared with the much more popular single-game betting that would be allowed in New Jersey.

High demand

Even in its limited form, there's plenty of action on NFL games in Delaware.

At Naamans, a sign promotes an 8 a.m. opening for betting on Sundays _ an hour earlier than The Reef just down the road. George Ganat, a store clerk, said that, after adding the betting this fall, demand has been so high on game days that the store puts up a tent with a television and chairs since state law prohibits the liquor store from opening before noon on Sundays.

Ross has a betting competitor, Delaware News Center, in the same strip mall, with Kuk Sool Won martial arts center, Luigi's Pizzeria, and Northern Lights Tattoos situated in between. As drivers approach Carpenter Plaza, they see countless small signs advertising The Reef's sports betting along the side of the road, reminiscent of a political candidate trying to attract voters on the eve of an election.

A sign above the name of the restaurant reads, "Bet Pro Football Here & Get a Free Dinner!!!" That promotion is good for anyone betting at least $100.

Customers in Delaware fill out tickets using pen or pencil to hand over their picks to the store or restaurant clerk.

Under Delaware's parlay system, a bettor would get a payout of 6.5-for-1 for a 3-game parlay, earning $11 on a minimum bet of $2. Potential payouts increase with each additional game chosen, up to 2,500 to 1 if the right team is chosen in each of 12 games against the point spread. But get even one game wrong _ or have even one game land exactly on the point spread, like a 10-point favorite winning by 10 points _ and the ticket is a loser.

David Brightwell of Chester, Pa., was eyeing the $5 ticket he had just purchased Thursday at The Reef that had a potential payout of $195.

"First time I played, I won $165," Brightwell said. "I just missed last week, too."

Erik Bacon, a 27-year-old Philadelphia resident, said he tried "10 or 15" bets a week, often for the $2 minimum per bet. He won $2,400 on a $3 bet last year, he said, adding that he missed a $5,000 payout last week by 1 point when Seattle defeated Carolina by 4 points but the Seahawks were favored by 4{.

Bacon's favorite game is picking all 15 Sunday and Monday games against the point spread, with a prize of $100,000 on a $2 bet.

"They should have this everywhere," Bacon said after walking out of Naamans.

'Grandfather' clause

Delaware is one of just four states allowed to offer some form of sports betting beyond horse racing, dog racing or jai alai, under the terms of the Professional and Amateur Act of 1992 passed by Congress that prohibits any other states from authorizing such gambling. A one-year experiment by Delaware with NFL parlay betting in 1976 allowed the state to revive such wagering in 2009, because the federal ban allowed the four states _ Delaware, Nevada, Oregon and Montana _ that had already offered sports betting to be "grandfathered" into the new law.

Delaware went to federal court in 2009 to try to offer more traditional single-game NFL betting, but the court rejected that bid. The state then settled for a revival of its parlay betting through the Delaware Lottery that year at the state's three racetrack/casinos. It allowed retail stores and taverns to join the game in 2012, with the caveat that big winners could cash their tickets only at the racetrack/casinos.

"The retailers have been very enthusiastic about having another popular ticket to sell," Kirk said of the NFL gambling. "And the casinos like the fact that if you win more than $600, you have to go to one of their sports books to cash it. That customer might have a beer, eat lunch or go to the blackjack table while they're there."

Kirk declined to confirm if the state deliberately authorizes sports betting at sites closest to other states, but he noted: "We don't ignore our borders. We do pay attention to geographic location."

Injunction in N.J.

With its multiyear legal battle to add sports betting to the menu at state racetracks and Atlantic City casinos, New Jersey wants to offer individual-game NFL betting as is found in Nevada and to allow bettors to gamble on all forms of sports from baseball, hockey, and basketball to tennis, golf and NASCAR.

Monmouth Park so far is the only track or casino to challenge the federal ban in court.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp, who in February 2013 ruled against the state in a similar sports betting effort, issued a temporary restraining order on Oct. 24 to prevent Monmouth Park from offering NFL betting two days later. Shipp is expected to rule on whether to issue a permanent injunction almost immediately after a Nov. 20 hearing in Trenton.

Sports betting, like online casino gambling, was passed by the Legislature and approved by Christie as a way to help the struggling Atlantic City casino industry _ which has lost four of its 12 casinos this year and may lose a fifth, Trump Taj Mahal, at the end of this month. Executives in the horse-racing industry have touted sports betting as a way to save the sport, with new revenues leading to larger purses, better fields and larger crowds.

Email: brennan@northjersey.com Blog: northjersey.com/brennan

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