Sports executives often say certain prospective draft picks do or do not pass the “eye test.” Looking around Parx Casino on a random Tuesday afternoon this month, one thing is for sure – Parx and its new sportsbook pass the “eye test” with flying colors.
Many Las Vegas casinos would be jealous of Parx’ layout. It’s bright – golden and gorgeous – with with a sea of blackjack, craps, roulette, slots and of course a brand new sportsbook.
“We’re here to be serious players in this space – the sports betting space in Pennsylvania,” Parx Casino Senior Vice President of Interactive Gaming and Sports Matthew Cullen said in an exclusive interview with MetroBet. “You can see the investment we’ve made with the look of the sportsbook and the $10 million we paid for the license. And with the high tax rate that we’re paying back to the state. Sports betting is in our history at Parx with our owners and we’re just excited that it’s here. It’s been a long time coming.”
Parx was packed on this rainy day with bettors flooding the new book to throw cash down on the Sixers, who were -6.5 favorites over the Celtics.
“Sports betting is a business where people have to – if you haven’t been in it before – you have to be ready for the ebbs and flows,” Cullen told MetroBet. “You’re not going to win every day. It just doesn’t happen that way. And in a city like Philadelphia you definitely don’t because often times your book is going to be lopsided. Like the other night we were lopsided on the 76ers. Then again if you’re out of whack with the other Philly books or off-shore, a really sharp player is going to hit you. We’ve got to be in line with all of the other books globally. We know that some days we’re going to be way upside down on a particular game because everybody is betting on the Eagles or the Sixers or Phillies in this market. And you just have to hope that tomorrow they come back and if they win they end up coming back and playing with you again.”
Parx is well aware that the sports betting business in Philadelphia is already a crowded and highly competitive field. Cullen believes, however, that they have all the ingredients to be a leader in the new market.
“I think the thing that separates us is that we saw how some of the other sportsbooks opened their business and from what we heard – they weren’t very well staffed,” Cullen told MetroBet. “We’ve overstaffed. We’ve also made a big investment in technology with all of these kiosks. Our kiosks are all throughout the casino. Some of the other places have eight or nine. We have 26 throughout our casino here. So we’re ready for the rush.”
In addition to the main book in Bensalem, Parx also has a smaller sportsbook at the South Philadelphia Turf Club adjacent to Citizens Bank Park and they are set to open a third location at Valley Forge in Oaks, Pennsylvania just before the start of March Madness.
