Casino City's Friday Five: Big Game edition

This week, two New York casinos had their day, a property over in New Jersey made it cool to use the term "saloon" again and, of course, we've got some news on the big bad known as illegal wagering. 5. Tropicana Atlantic City introduces new southwestern style saloon Firewaters Saloon at Tropicana Atlantic City Casino & Resort will take you back to the (debatably) good ol' days of the Wild West. The space, formerly a bar, is now decked out with posters from popular spaghetti westerns, many of which you'll be able to find playing on one of the big screens. Buddy Bear, a seven-foot-tall statue of what we presume is a bear, is on-hand for photo ops. (And don't forget your 10-gallon hat.)

Introducing the all-new Firewaters Saloon!

Join us for the grand opening this Saturday, Feb. 3rd for 69 draft beers, southwestern style, and live music starting at 6pm! Make sure to grab a pic with #BuddyBear! ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/dH5VBSohxk
— Tropicana AC (@TropicanaAC) January 31, 2018

4. Rivers Casino Schenectady celebrates one year in business

Since opening last year, we've provided a place for locals to celebrate. Of course, none of this would be possible without our employees. We’ve brought over 1,100 jobs to this community & we look forward to growing with #Schenectady. To our guests, thank you for believing in us! pic.twitter.com/LDq7Ak0G2r
— Rivers Casino Resort (@RiversCasino_NY) February 2, 2018

Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady is going the way of the diva by taking not just one day for its birthday celebration, but a whole month. Throughout February, guests can enjoy top-notch live entertainment, special hotel packages and, incredibly, a chance to win a car. They'll also be throwing out slot points and other casino perks like it's no one's business, so be sure to take advantage! Karaoke and trivia with a $1,000 prize at stake will round out the experience for those of you who get gamed out. 3. Del Lago Resort & Casino marks first anniversary Another flourishing New York property, del Lago Resort & Casino, has made its mission the betterment of its surrounding community, the Finger Lakes region. Impressively, the casino managed to bring the area's 7% unemployment rate down to 3.9%. Tourism was also given a boost, and local businesses have reported that they're faring much better than in years before. (Del Lago does its part by buying local vegetables, fruits, wine and meat each month.) If you've been thinking about driving over and taking a peek, which our own Clare Fitzgerald did last year for the Grand Opening, this might be a sign to do so. 2. PokerStars 'Fresh' Series launches with €5 million guarantee The FRESH (France Espania Hold'em) series is underway at PokerStars.com, where poker liquidity between France and Spain has recently become a blissful reality. A total of €5 million is guaranteed across 50 events, and that includes a €1 million Main Event prize. These prizes are a huge milestone and are indicative of what players can expect going forward. 1. AGA: Americans will wager more than $4.6 billion illegally on Super Bowl 52

Thanks to prop bets, there are literally hundreds of ways to bet the #SuperBowl. We crunched the numbers and found the 10 wagers that provide the best value: https://t.co/eLdb31X9co #SuperBowl52 @LVSuperBook @DaveMasonBOL @BovadaSports @JimmyVaccaro pic.twitter.com/itSzbzeLr9
— Gary Trask (@casinocityGT) January 30, 2018

The Big Game, indeed. If Americans love one thing, it's the Super Bowl, and mercy on the person who tries to stop them from betting on it. The American Gaming Association predicts that a whopping $4.76 billion will be placed on this year's event, with 97% of that being illegal due to federal law. Nevada will rake in the 3% — or $138.5 million — of legal bets. So is this going to be the year that the U.S. legalizes sports betting? That's an awful lot of money working its way through black betting markets.