Sports books see increase in bets due to March Madness

Your bracket may be busted, but it’s not too late to cash in some winners.

Scarlet Pearl Casino is expecting another huge turnout as the Sweet 16 round of the March Madness tournament begins tonight.

Last week, the Scarlet Pearl Sportsbook was packed for the rounds of 64 and 32. Fans were at the sports book area all day, building parlays and single team bets hoping to multiply their money.

Brad Carpenter, the sports book manager at Scarlet Pearl Casino, is seeing an influx of bets being put down on the Crimson Tide. “Kinda not surprisingly, a lot of bets on Alabama. Being so close, they are the favorite right now to win the whole tournament. Some other teams that are taking some action are Houston and UCLA and the other team people expect to do well, also an SEC team, is Tennessee. Those are the teams getting the most action right now.”

Sports enthusiast Johnny Gillette said, “I would say always bet on the SEC. That’s the strongest conference in the United States. So, stick with the SEC and you won’t go wrong.”

Carpenter says the bettors have also been wagering on the Women’s March Madness Tournament.