The excitement of sports betting arriving Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York was evident from the moment I drove onto the property Thursday morning. Banners and balloons decorated the place inside and out, and upon heading down the main escalator toward the gaming floor. It only became more intense with staff handing out souvenirs liberally in anticipation of sports betting finally coming to Central New York.
If you are used to Las Vegas-sized sportsbooks, your experience will be smaller here, but the look and feel remains the same with 10 TV’s sprawled across the floor and bar area to go along with a 500 square-foot video board and plenty of seating in the 2,700 square-foot space. If you frequent Turning Stone you won’t be able to miss the sportsbook, dubbed The Lounge with Caesars Sports, as it sits in the main entrance down the escalators from the parking garage, providing extremely easy access to everyone.
Ray Halbritter, Oneida Nation Representative and Nation Enterprises CEO and Walt Fales, SVP of Strategic Development at Caesars Entertainment, spoke about the partnerships created to bring legalized sports betting to Central NY before starting a 24-second shot clock to open up betting to the public.
We are live! pic.twitter.com/5lXUP2ckL7
— Brit Devine (@brit_devine) August 1, 2019
Patrons put down bets
After the book was open, local Turning Stone frequenter Peter Cantalupe was announced as a contest winner that awarded him the chance to place the first bet… along with a trip to Super Bowl LIV in Miami!
Cantalupe took the Twins -170 to beat the Marlins on Thursday, but suffice to say he was slightly more excited about the surprise announcement handed out by Turning Stone that he was headed to the big game — to complete a bucket list item for him.
Peter Cantalupe from Fayettville NY wins a contest to place the 1st bet….and a trip to the Superbowl
He takes the Twins -170 this afternoon to beat the Marlins pic.twitter.com/NOMRtTgGlG
— Brit Devine (@brit_devine) August 1, 2019
After that, a line grew 50 bettors long, ready and off to the ticket windows. The ticket writers handled the wagers very quickly, which was pleasantly surprising on an opening day. So have no fears of a wait if you plan to attend. They provided plenty of odds sheets to look over as well as an easy-to-read board.
At this point I wanted to get in on the action, but first I want to note a few bets that I was told are not accepted due to specific regulations in New York State for the land-based sportsbooks:
- No bets on New York College teams;
- No bets on “vote based’ outcomes (such as NFL MVP futures)
After being unable to place the NFL MVP future bet I was looking for, I decided to take the over on the Astros at Indians game. This 8.5 total has no chance in the juiced ball era. Here she is:
Let’s go Over on the Astros game pic.twitter.com/MYNsEf6RMS
— Brit Devine (@brit_devine) August 1, 2019
Not only did the Oneida Indian Nation open up a sports book at Turning Stone today, they also launched one at Point Place Casino in Bridgeport, another Oneida-owned casino and now home to a new Lounge with Caesars Sports.
On my way home I stopped by and took a few pictures and was surpassingly stunned at how nice it was for a smaller property. The eye level of the screens is in your face and the chairs provided a small tray table on them as well as reclining options for a great experience.
If you place a bet at any of Turning Stone, Point Place and a third Oneida Nation property, Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango (future opening), you can cash a ticket from one at any of those three. I found this nice as the three properties are spread out over Central NY, allowing someone to visit one and collect at another that might be closer to home. Mobile sports betting and ticket processing from anywhere inside state lines hopefully is coming to New York at some point down the road.
But that about does it for today! Overall I was impressed at both locations and wouldn’t hesitate to go back. It’s been a long time coming for legal sports betting in New York and both locations got things right today.
