Monthly Archives: October 2016

Nevada sportsbooks welcome NFL’s return

Nevada casino sportsbooks welcomed the National Football League’s return as football betting revenue rose nearly one-fifth in September.

Figures released Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board show statewide casino gaming revenue of $949m in September, a 3.5% rise over the same month last year. The gains reflected a good month on the Las Vegas Strip, where revenue rose 7.5% to $542.5m.

The gains came despite a decline in baccarat revenue, which fell 7.8% to $92.9m. Baccarat’s loss was blackjack’s gain, as the game saw revenue surge 18.5% to just under $107m. Roulette also had a good month, rising 50.4% to $31.6m while craps crapped out, falling 21.9% to $28.1m. Slots revenue rose 2.4% to $586m.

The state’s sportsbooks reported total revenue of $41m (+15.2%), with football bets accounting for $36.9m of that total thanks to a nearly 12% hold. The football win is the fourth highest on record despite handle falling nearly $5m year-on-year to $309.2m.

Errant rake forces Hong Kong Jockey Club to void first race in 132 years

A mislaid gardening tool has caused the first ever no-race ruling in the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s illustrious 132-year history.

On Wednesday night, the Happy Valley racecourse was forced to void all wagers on a Class Four sprint as well as the card’s Jockey Challenge after an errant rake prevented eight of the 12 stall gates from opening on time.

A post mortem examination of the incident revealed that a track worker leaned his rake against the side of the stalls after performing routine maintenance on the track following the previous race. Rakes are normally stored in a gap in the barrier structure but on this occasion the rake was stored in a more upright position than usual.

The HKJC declared the result as a no-race, forcing them to refund a total of HKD 126m (US $16.2m) that had been wagered. The Jockey Challenge, which ordinarily attracts between HKD 8m-11m, was abandoned. Multi-pool bets were paid out according to consolation rules.