Casinos prepare for big weekend

With the Saints one win away from the Super Bowl, Coast casinos and sports books are gearing up for a very busy weekend.

Since sports gambling in Mississippi became legal last August, casinos have been on a winning streak. In 2018, Mississippi casinos had a revenue increase of $45 million with $15 million coming directly from sports betting. Scarlet Pearl Sportsbook Director Nico Sfanos said, “It’s really not an amenity to the casinos anymore. People are coming in to visit the sports book and it’s another revenue source that we’re really excited about.”

With the New Orleans Saints playing in the NFC Championship game Sunday, the Scarlet Pearl Casino is preparing for plenty of visitors, having the ability to wager on sports is a big draw the casino did not have before this past summer. “We have a bunch of people coming in from out of town and they wanna set up. They wanna make sure that they’re going to be able to enjoy the casino as a whole, all our food outlets, you know, play some craps, play some machines, but in the end their trip is going to be here in the Sportsbook, watching the Saints bring it home,” said Sfanos.

Legalized sports gambling has sparked interest in people that they never knew that they had. Biloxi resident David Seymour said, “I wasn’t really a hockey fan, but you know, some of my buddies might say bet on this hockey game, you know, it’s worth it. You may win some good money so I jump on it.”

The Sportsbook at the Scarlet Pearl will feature live prop bets for the game Sunday, allowing for bets on exact statistics.