LEXINGTON, Ky. — Super Bowl LVIII has come and gone, but not without making history in the Commonwealth.
It was the first time people in Kentucky could not just watch the game, but enjoy Super Bowl bets among friends and family, with sports betting now legal in the state.
To celebrate the occasion, Red Mile Gaming in Lexington lit up red and gold all weekend long as it welcomed visitors inside its sportsbook den, which includes multiple floors, bars and TV screens across its walls. The sportsbook section opened in Sept. 2023 as the NFL season kicked off.
Gabe Prewitt is the center's vice president of racing and sports wagering operations, earning the title last year after more than 20 years of accustoming himself to the ins and outs of the gaming center.
It's why he knew its retail sportbook lounge would bring a special crowd for the Super Bowl and first-time in-person bets on the big game.
“Of course, everything leading up to the big game last night was great,” Prewitt said. “We were pretty much packed [Sunday]. We had a few hundred people upstairs.”
Red Mile Gaming saw more than 2,000 different bets made on both the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. The sportsbook is run through Caesars Entertainment.
When the center opened, Prewitt said much of his staff came from Caesars' property in Southern Indiana.
“We have highly trained staff that are here to walk you through any questions," Prewitt said.
The Super Bowl rallied a big crowd, Prewitt said. He added he hopes to introduce a new crowd of visitors to its horse racing track.
“The good thing about sports wagering is it reaches a demographic that sometimes we don't reach even on the racetrack side or the horse racing side," Prewitt said. "We've had a lot of people that we've been able to introduce to the facility through sports wagering."
The facility is approaching its 150th anniversary, having been ingrained in the Lexington community since 1875. Prewitt said he expects a busy year for the center, with March Madness and other high-profile events ahead.