New Jersey takes in $40.6 million in sports bets in July

Sport

New Jersey takes in $40.6 million in sports bets in July

2018-08-15 04:37 Last Updated At：10:20

Sports betting is off and running in New Jersey, with three casinos and two racetracks taking in $40.6 million in wagers in July, the first full month it was legal.

Those figures were part of a report that showed that Hard Rock debuted as Atlantic City's No. 3 casino in terms of gambling revenue out of the nine casinos in town. Ocean Resort came in last in its first full month of operation.

New Jersey won a U.S. Supreme Court case in May clearing the way for all 50 states to offer sports betting if they choose. Since betting began in New Jersey on June 14, more than $57 million in bets has been taken in, and additional companies continue to join a rapidly expanding market.

July's numbers were mainly posted by the Borgata and Ocean Resort casinos, and the Monmouth Park and Meadowlands racetracks. Bally's casino began taking sports bets on July 30.

Since then, Harrah's and Resorts have started taking sports bets as well, but their revenue will not be reported until mid-September.

The Meadowlands, about 6 miles (9.66 kilometers) from New York City in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the NFL's New York Jets and Giants play, took in $1.35 million in July, having started taking bets on July 14. Monmouth Park, which started taking bets June 14, took in $856,280 in July, and has won $3.1 million since mid-June.

Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill US, which runs the sports books at Monmouth Park and the Ocean Resort Casino, said he is "thrilled with the early numbers at both Monmouth and Ocean. They are clearly exceeding our expectations of where we thought we would be at this early stage. There's no doubt the New Jersey sports betting market has a lot of potential."

The Borgata took in $562,830 in sports betting in July, and Ocean Resort handled just over $1 million. Bally's did just under $18,000 in the two days it took sports bets in July.

Sports betting generated $325,646 in state taxes in July.

Figures released Tuesday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show the Borgata, Ocean Resort and Bally's, and the two tracks saw gross sports betting revenue of $3.8 million on those bets.

But regulators caution that bets involving future outcomes, such as the winner of football's Super Bowl, won't be paid out for months.

Of completed events that were the subject of betting, they retained just under 6 percent of the amount wagered.

Harrah's and Resorts casinos began offering sports betting in August.

Including all gambling revenue, the nine casinos took in $302 million in July, up 12.8 percent from a year ago. But that's mainly because two newly reopened casinos had their first full month of operation in July, including Hard Rock, the former Trump Taj Mahal. It debuted as Atlantic City's No. 3 casino out of the nine now operating in terms of revenue, with $32.7 million. It trailed only Tropicana, at $37 million, and perennial leader Borgata, which won $76.6 million in July.

Looking more closely at individual casinos, July was actually not a great month. Of the seven casinos that were operating a year ago, only the Golden Nugget showed a year-over-year increase in July, with $29.4 million, an increase of 8.8 percent over July 2017.

Harrah's was down 14.1 percent to $31.4 million and Resorts was down 12.7 percent to $17.8 million. Resorts president Mark Giannantonio said the casino did more business this July than last, but was hurt by some losses at table games.

Caesars was down 10.3 percent to $29.3 million; Bally's was down 9.9 percent to $20.5 million; Tropicana was down 9.8 percent, and Borgata was down 4.4 percent.

Ocean Resort, the former Revel casino won $17 million in its first full month, ranking it last among the city's nine casinos. Bruce Deifik, who owns the property formerly known as Revel, noted that July was the first time in its history that it generated a positive cash flow. He reopened the site in January after buying it from Florida developer Glenn Straub, who failed to open it for two years.

"To be ninth out of nine in this position, I'm tickled pink," he said. "This was a property that for two years had a cloud over its head, people thought it was cursed, and no one thought I'd ever get it open."

Internet gambling continued its strong performance in July, up nearly 26 percent from a year ago to $25.8 million.

Follow Wayne Parry at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC

Blinken, in Shanghai, begins expected contentious talks with Chinese officials

2024-04-25 11:27 Last Updated At：11:40

SHANGHAI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened his first full day of meetings in China on Thursday by talking with local government officials in Shanghai.

Blinken discussed local and regional issues with Chen Jining, the Chinese Communist Party Secretary of Shanghai. He also planned to speak to students and business leaders before flying to Beijing for what are expected to be contentious talks with national officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday shortly before President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package that has several elements likely to anger the Chinese, including $8 billion to counter China’s growing aggressiveness toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea. It also seeks to force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform.

China has railed against U.S. assistance to Taiwan, the self-governing island that it regards as a renegade province, and immediately condemned the move as a dangerous provocation. It also strongly opposes efforts to force TikTok’s sale.

Still, the fact that Blinken made the trip — shortly after a conversation between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a similar visit to China by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and a call between the U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs — is a sign the two sides are at least willing to discuss their differences.

“I think it’s important to underscore the value — in fact, the necessity — of direct engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences, which are real, seeking to work through them,” Blinken told Chen.

“We have an obligation for our people, indeed an obligation to the world, to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly,” he said. “That is the obligation we have, and one that we take very seriously.”

Chen agreed with that sentiment and said the recent Biden-Xi call had helped the “stable and healthy development of our two countries’ relationship.”

“Whether we choose cooperation or confrontation affects the well-being of both peoples, both countries, and the future of humanity” he said.

Chen added that he hoped Blinken was able to get a “deep impression and understanding” of Shanghai.

Shortly after arriving, Blinken attended a Chinese basketball playoff game between the local Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, with the home team losing in the last seconds in 121-120 nailbiter.