Harrah’s in Chester the latest casino to open a sportsbook
The Casears property opened Tuesday with six betting windows, but no kiosks.
There are a couple of things to like about the sportsbook that opened Tuesday at the Harrah’s casino in Chester.
It’s adjacent to a pretty nice bar that has a big-screen TV large enough to pull any caveman out of his man cave.
It’s a Caesars' property, so it accepts players' cards, which goes toward comps and other free stuff. Mom always said you can never have too many Crock-Pots or coffee makers.
What it doesn’t have are kiosks, which limits betting options and most in-game wagering. Kiosks are a few months away. But for traditional bettors, especially those who live in Delaware County and would rather not fight I-95 to go to SugarHouse or Delaware Park, it’s a good option.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” said Jim Perry, a Ridley Park resident who placed the first bet. “I started calling to see if they were open in November.”
The sportsbook will operate from 2 p.m. to midnight on Tuesday and Wednesday for a test period mandated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Pending approval, it will open at 11 a.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. Saturday-Sunday and close at midnight seven days a week.
Perry and his wife, Pam, are huge NASCAR fans. He put 30 bucks on the Daytona 500 -- 10 bucks each on Brad Keselowski (7-1), Joey Logano (8-1) and Ryan Blaney (12-1).
“They’re Penske guys. I like the Penske cars,” he said. “They’re good on the plate tracks. I like them.”
We’ll have to take his word for it, which isn’t too big of a leap. He said he had Logano to win last year’s championship and was wearing a baseball cap with “Keselowski” emblazoned on it.
He also made a small play on the Rams to beat New England in the Super Bowl.
“I hate the Patriots,” he said. “Who doesn’t?”
Super Bowl lines
Harrah’s had the Patriots at -2.5 for the Super Bowl, but SugarHouse and Parx were at -2 as of late Tuesday afternoon. The money lines were -140/+120 at Harrah’s, -134/+110 at SugarHouse and Parx.
Translation: If you want the Patriots, SugarHouse and Parx are the play. If you want the Rams, head to Chester.
Parx app now available
The Parx' Betslip Builder became available at Apple’s app store on Tuesday.
The app allows bettors to create wagers, which generate a bar code that is scanned at the window. Tellers love it because it saves them from having to scroll through the scores of odds. It also tells what various parlays would pay out.
Mobile sports betting is not likely to be available in Pennsylvania until the spring.