Atlantic City

What used to be a buzzing place of excitement and hope turned into a desolate and forgotten scene. The Trump Plaza is almost empty, and some refer to it as the American armpit. This is the former glorious boardwalk in Atlantic City. The place which inspired the board game, Monopoly in the US. Yet new hope is on the horizon as the gold rush is moving in. A new tomorrow has dawned on the local gambling industry.

According to Franco Guerrero, a man who has been working in Atlantic City for 29 years this was what they saw in the days after the recession of 2008 hit the American folk. He stated that many people left because they have lost so much money, but now there are new opportunities once again and many of them. He used to work at Harrah’s but moved on to Hard Rock resort’s sportsbook soon. It opened up during June 2018 and is what is considered to be the American version of a bookmaker’s shop.

Frontier to the Gold Rush

New Jersey was the first state in the US to legalize betting when the PASPA legislation was changed in 2018. Since then it became the hosting city for a large number of both American and European sportsbooks, which are being built into casinos. Since the legislation changed, the American market resembled a gold rush. Everybody wanted a piece of this very lucrative pie, according to the chief executive of Flutter, Peter Jackson. Since the legislation change in 2018, 14 states have opened their doors to legal betting, and five more is on the waiting list.

Since PASPA was instilled, American punters had merely three choices. Either they had to travel to Nevada and place their bets in Las Vegas, or they had to find a local bookie in some shadowy alley for an illegal and possibly dangerous transaction, or they had to place their bets with offshore companies. Now the options are open and full, and all transactions can happen in the light of legality. This opened up so many new opportunities and possibilities where there were for long none.

Changed Legislation

Many refer to Dennis Drazin as the man behind the new legislation. Drazin is a lawyer from New Jersey and also the chairman of the Monmouth Park racetrack. The horse racing industry has been showing dwindling figures over the past couple of years, and according to the beliefs of many, Drazin took note of the fact that if wagers could be placed, attendance would rise once more. After a series of battles in court, the man who was sometimes referred to as Don Quixote on a wild chase managed to succeed. This changed the scene of gambling in the US forever; it opened up new possibilities, jobs and dreams.