In New Jersey, the Meadowlands became the second race track to begin taking legal sports wagers this past weekend. Most of us have been betting sports for years; and we have never witnessed anything like what is now going on there. They are charging the most outrageous vigorish known to mankind.
Approximately 98% of the shops that are in Vegas or abroad charge a vig of -105 on both sides of the baseball game. For example, the NYY -130 and the comeback on the underdog is +120. The other 2% charge -110 both ways and see much smaller volume.
The Meadowlands is charging -125 with a +100 return on the underdog. Totals are even worse, Over 8 -140 with a comeback of +105. This is an outrage, and anyone with half a brain should avoid this place like the plague.
Do they really think the customer base is that green and they don’t know any better? Did they think they were opening a book in the middle of America? This is on New York’s doorstep! These people have been betting for decades with their local guys. Even the people that have not, do read the New York newspapers, where sportsbook lines are posted every single day, with Vegas Odds.
One thing for sure, the street bookmakers in North Jersey and New York have no worries with the Meadowlands cutting into their profits. In fact, it may actually increase their business after the public gets a taste of this and realizes they can go to their local bar and find a guy who is booking at a 75% discounted rate rather than this ripoff joint.
The ticket writers should be wearing ski masks like their bosses, this way everyone can just save some time. I have posted on Twitter about this (along with many others) and the stories have gone viral. Hopefully, the public catches on to these practices and does not patronize this establishment until the management returns to planet Earth.
The June numbers are out in New Jersey – $16.4 million was wagered. $1 million of that was on futures. So of the $15.4 million wagered, the casinos/state won just under $3.5 million in 16 days. That is a hold percentage of over 22%. In relation, Nevada’s hold for 2017 was 5.1%.
These high percentages will not last in New Jersey, but they will be much more than they are in Nevada. Shouldn’t that be enough of an incentive for these European companies to want to get involved in New Jersey with Vegas-like prices?
Further, the racetracks in New Jersey are making you remove your hats and sunglasses when at the counter to make your wagers. I can’t get a straight answer as to why this is. However, I think eventually they will use facial recognition software to weed out advantaged gamblers like myself.
It could be they are afraid of theft, but then why do they only do it on the sports side and not the horse race windows? Whatever the case, this is not being done anywhere else in the world that I know of, and it just does not feel right.
All of this makes me appreciate a little more of the life I have here in Las Vegas. The choices of sportsbooks I have, the ease of the apps you can bet on from the comfort of your home (or hotel room). I do not think any gaming jurisdiction will ever have as many options as we do in Vegas.
