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Legal Sports Betting in Maryland Arrives at MGM National Harbor

Washington, D.C. sportstalk host J.P. Flaim, part of the Sports Junkies crew on WJFK (106.7 The Fan), places a bet at the opening of the BetMGM Sportbook at National Harbor on Thursday. Sports betting became legal in Maryland more than three years after a Supreme Court ruling opened the door to wagering outside Nevada. Photo by Bruce DePuyt.

When the Sports Junkies, a popular sports radio foursome, wanted to do an end-of-the-week betting segment in the late 1990s, jittery station managers asked them to be discreet about it.

So the hosts — four longtime friends from Bowie who got their start on local cable access — dubbed the segment “Friday Night Fatties.” It was their way of describing NFL picks that they considered “big fat winners.”

On Thursday, in an act that underscored sports gambling’s emergence from the shadows, hosts J.P. Flaim and Johnny “Cakes” Auville stepped up to the betting counter at MGM National Harbor and became the fourth and fifth people in Maryland history to place legal sports wagers.

Flaim’s wager: a $50 bet on the underdog Pittsburgh Steelers, getting three points, against the Minnesota Vikings.

“It’s just something fun to do. And people were doing it anyway,” Flaim said. “It’s a billion dollar industry.”

BetMGM is the casino giant’s subsidiary. They held a ribbon-cutting to mark the opening of their Maryland sportsbook on the resort’s main level, not far from poker tables and jingling slots machines that were doing a surprisingly brisk business on a weekday.

Casino sportsbooks are often described as sports bars on steroids, with comfy chairs, every brand of booze imaginable, sports grub, and dozens of monitors — and BetMGM’s are no exception.

Giant screens displaying rows of green and white numbers describe the hundreds of possible bets that can be placed on all manner of sporting events, from pro football to mixed marital arts and everything in between.

Maryland took its sweet time getting to this moment.

Although many states — notably New Jersey — moved quickly in the wake of a 2018 Supreme Court decision that  stripped Nevada of its sports betting monopoly, Maryland opted for a cautious approach.

The General Assembly decided to let voters decide the issue at referendum in 2020, and they said yes by a margin of 2-to-1. Finally, earlier this year, lawmakers approved a gambling framework that initially favors casinos, professional sports stadiums and racing facilities.

“People have been betting in our neighboring states and in other places,” said Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) after cutting the ribbon at the BetMGM Sportsbook. “And now they can finally do it right at home.”

Two other casinos — Live! in Hanover and Horseshoe in Baltimore — are scheduled to open their sportsbooks on Friday. Hollywood Casino in Perryville and Ocean Downs Casino in Berlin are expected to open their sports wagering facilities in the near future.

This week the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission approved two additional licenses — a sports bar called Long Shot’s in Frederick and Riverboat on the Potomac, a restaurant just offshore from Colonial Beach, Va. that is considered a Maryland facility because it’s anchored in the Potomac River.

One is female-owned, the other is owned by Black businesspeople. State lawmakers have stressed diversity in the rollout of the new industry.

Although sports wagering is not nearly as lucrative as slots and poker, casino owners here have been eager to operate legal sportsbooks in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling, as a way to drive traffic and keep Maryland dollars in-state.

They’ve hired hundreds of new employees — tellers and bartenders, mostly — in anticipation of final approvals.

Many bettors are familiar with traditional sports wagering — in which people betting on underdog teams “get” points and those choosing favorites “give” them. Consumers will also find “moneyline” bets, which pay out more to bettors who select underdogs and less to those who pick favorites.

Because moneyline bets are more complicated, operators train their employees to guide bettors through the process.

“(We’re looking for) passion. Passion for sports. Passion for customer service,” said Johnny Grooms, BetMGM’s Director of Retail Sports East. “It’s easy for us to teach people how to handle money and how do to the technical aspects of the job. It’s not easy to teach someone to be passionate about what they do every day.”

Grooms said setting up a Maryland operation “has been a little different, because sports betting is brand new here.”

By law, sportsbook operators in Maryland will turn over 15% of their handle, which is the total amount of money bet on a game or event, to the state. The referendum approved by voters requires that those revenues go to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund, to benefit public education. Legislative analysts predict that wagering on professional and collegiate sporting events will net the state between $15 million and $25 million a year.

In states that allow both on-site and digital betting, mobile devices typically account for between 80% and 90% of the total handle. John A. Martin, director of the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, said he hopes regulations for app-based gambling will be in place by the start of the 2022 NFL season.

“We’re excited that sports wagering is finally here now in the state of Maryland,” he said.

“It does kind of enhance the experience” of watching sports, said Flaim, the radio sports host. “I have some friends who are like, ‘I can’t watch a game without a little action.’ They may just be $5 bets.”

Before returning to Annapolis, Hogan placed a long-shot — but hometown fan friendly — $50 bet that the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Football Team will meet in the Super Bowl. His odds of winning are virtually zero. (The Football Team is 6-6, while the 8-4 Ravens have given up almost as many points as they have scored.) If the clubs do manage to reach Super Bowl LVI in February, BetMGM will owe the governor $20,400.

Former Washington QB Joe Theissman placed the second legal bet in Maryland history. He risked an undisclosed amount that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, now led by former New England quarterback Tom Brady, will square off against the Patriots in Inglewood, Calif.

Prince George’s County Council Chairman Calvin S. Hawkins II (D), bettor #3, wagered that the Washington Football Team will defeat Dallas on Sunday.

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Legal Sports Betting in Maryland Arrives at MGM National Harbor