SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Vice President of casino operations Robert Westerfield said year one of Springfield MGM's sportsbook has been a great success, particularly when it comes to in-person betting.
What You Need To Know
- Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary since Springfield MGM opened its sportsbook for in-person betting.
- Springfield MGM's sportbook has done better than expected in year one with around 150,000 in-person sports bets
- On Wednesday, Springfield MGM also introduced new President and COO Louis Theros following former president Chris Kelley's decision to step down earlier this winter
- Westfield said the sportsbook is already seeing a surge of different bets just under two weeks away from the Super Bowl.
"It's been higher than we expected," Westerfield said. "Like I said, the response from the community, from the guests coming in, from the volumes of people that we've had, the numbers have been more than we expected. We've approximately taken in about 150,000 bets over the past year, but we've just continued to grow."
Westerfield said the casino has also added to the sportsbook in year one by including UFC fights to their Saturday night card. And with the matchup for the Super Bowl having been decided this past weekend, Westerfield said the sportsbook is already seeing a surge of different bets just under two weeks away from the big game.
"Betting on whose gonna throw for 250 yards, who's gonna catch the first pass, things like that, the obscure bets," he said. "We're getting a lot of that action right now, so it'll be interesting as game time comes, and like everybody else, they're gonna wait more towards the end, see where the line is before they make their calculated choice. But we're getting a lot of action already, which is really impressive."
On Wednesday, Springfield MGM also introduced new President and COO Louis Theros, following former president Chris Kelley's decision to step down earlier this winter.
Westerfield said the sportsbook has brought new life into the casino and says the success has also been great for the western Massachusetts economy.
"They go out to get a bite to eat in one of the restaurants, they'll go to MassMutual to see a gymnastics show or a comedy show, and all the things we have on property here," he said. "Tap, war comedy club, the movie theater. So it really brings another group of people here and it spreads throughout the whole property."
Westfield said he expects Springfield MGM's sportsbook to be packed for the Super Bowl, and to break last year's record for in-person bets on the game.