The Casino File
By Chuck Darrow
This Sunday—a.k.a. Super Bowl Sunday—is professional sports’ single-biggest day of the year. And it’s not too shabby for Atlantic City’s nine casinos either. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty darn important.
That’s because it has historically been a major revenue source for the local gaming industry. Prior to the advent of legal sports betting in 2018, the casinos would host its top players at lavish watch parties which sometimes featured (and still do) players and/or radio sports talkers providing real-time commentary. But the legalization of wagering on games has magnified the game’s importance to the casinos’ bottom lines.
Members of the public can now watch what those commercial entities not officially sanctioned by the NFL refer to as the “Big Game” in sportsbooks where bets can be made not just on the outcome of the contest, but on such things as the point total “over/under” and which player will score the game’s first touchdown.
And unlike the high rollers who qualify for free hotel rooms, meals and the like, those who aren’t big-time gamblers will be paying out-of-pocket.
“The Super Bowl is our Super Bowl,” confirmed Pat Glose, the director of the Fanatics Sportsbook at Ocean Casino Resort’s The Gallery Bar, Book & Games. “Unambiguously it’s the number-one day in the sports book.”
One reason, he suggested, is the experience of watching the game in that somewhat unique setting.
“This is an event that people want to experience in a larger-than-life way [that’s different] from how they would at home,” he said. “So, it really is an opportunity to bring in lots of new people that might not be familiar with sports betting or the casino writ large. It certainly brings a different [group of people] to the property than otherwise might be there.”
According to Joseph Giunta, who as vice-president and general manager of Tropicana Atlantic City is the Boardwalk pleasure dome’s top executive, the introduction of sports books at his and the other Caesars Entertainment-owned properties in town—Caesars Atlantic City and Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City—has had a significant—and positive—impact on Super Bowl-related business.
“We run about 30 points higher [hotel] occupancy,” he offered. “We didn’t see that much prior to legal sports books. Maybe you had like a five-point lift or a 10-point lift. There are so many more people in town–for the hype of the game, to bet on the game, to take part in it. And the viewing parties are that much more fun.”
Giunta, with whom we spoke last Saturday, noted that all three Caesars-run sports books were “close to selling out the [reserved-seating] sections” and predicted that by the time you read this, they will be completely gone. But he did point out that standing-room space should be available for Sunday’s Eagles-Chiefs throwdown.
And speaking of our beloved Birds, their participation in Super Bowl LIX means the excitement level should be cranked to “11” because of the local angle.
That they are making their second Super Bowl appearance in three years, Giunta reasoned, “actually adds a premium to what we normally see. The Philadelphia and South Jersey fan bases are crazy for a victory. There’s just so much energy when the Eagles play. They bring much more excitement to our buildings.”
That excitement isn’t limited to Super Bowl Sunday, or even the weekend.
“It started last Sunday,” said Glose during a phone call last Friday. “We’re seeing higher volume in the sports book. It’s the excitement around the Eagles being in it, obviously, but really for two weeks we see increased [betting] volumes.”
He added that while Sunday’s kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m., the party will begin hours earlier at his betting parlor.
“We’ll have a pretty full room starting at 9 a.m.,” Glose predicted. “It’ll fill up and it’ll sustain like that all the way through the game. It really is larger than just the three hours itself.”
Super Bowl specials
While the various sports books will be the focus of Sunday’s festivities, special promotions (as well as screens on which to watch the game) can be found throughout the casinos. Here’s are some examples of what’s being offered:
- Bally’s Atlantic City Bally’s Sportsbook is sold out, but The Yard will feature a buffet ($35) of what’s described as “football favorites” as well as a selection of beers and specially designed cocktails.
- Borgata’s Premier Nightclub, has an $89-per-person deal that includes a buffet and drink specials (not included) as the game is shown on large LED screens.
- Caesars’ Boardwalk Saloon will feature a game-day buffet, a beer pong tournament and giveaways.
- Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City’s Backstage Café at Rock Café is offering a variety of food and drink specials including the “Super Pour Sunday” special (a 20-ounce draft upgrade for $1), five bottled domestic beers for $25 and 25 bottled domestic beers for $100. For munchies, there are deals including two appetizers for $25, three for $35 and four for $45.
- Harrah’s The Pool is staging a “Super Bowl Splash” with a buffet, more than 40 screens and a DJ beginning at 4 p.m. ($30).
- Ocean’s game plan focuses on four specialty cocktails: Eagles Emerald (made with Bombay Saphire gin and Green Chartreuse liqueur ); Fly, Eagles, Fly (raspberry vodka and Blue Curacao liqueur); Big Red (silver tequila and triple sec) and Arrowhead (rye and ginger beer). All the concoctions have other, non-alcoholic ingredients as well.
- Resorts Casino-Hotel has multiple deals and activities including $3 Miller Light and Yuengling drafts at the DraftKings Sportsbook (which boasts a 15-foot ultra-high-def TV wall); a “QB 2-Minute Football Drill (noon to 6 p.m.) in which guests can compete for prizes by hitting the most targets (open to all Star Card members) and “Big Game Picks for Prizes (6 a.m. to 6:15 p.m.) in which Star Card holders can win $100 in slot cash by correctly answering five questions.
- Tropicana’s Broadway Burger Bar is offering $2 draft beers and $3 bottles.
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.
