Casino City’s Friday Five: Super Bowl LVII and mobile sports betting edition

We are two days away from the biggest football game of the year when the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs. We have betting suggestions from the Casino City team to consider ahead of Sunday’s matchup. In Massachusetts, you will only be able to place a wager at the three land-based casinos, but not online yet. However, just yesterday, a potential launch date was announced for mobile sports betting in the Bay State. In addition to that, we also have a jackpot win from Atlantic City, a new gaming floor at a New York property, and a new casino opening in Las Vegas.

Let’s begin this week with a $1.5 million jackpot:

5. $1.5 million win at Hard Rock Casino in Atlantic City
The winner hit a wide-area progressive slot machine jackpot of more than $1.5 million on Monday morning at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Atlantic City.

The guest was playing Scientific Games’ Willy Wonka – Dreamers of Dreams, when they hit for $1,511,911. The progressive jackpot was reset to $1 million.

4. Empire City Casino overhauls gaming floor
Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts in New York announced the addition of more than 1,000 new games to its gaming floor, the sixth largest casino floor in the country and the largest in the MGM Resorts portfolio.

The latest upgrade delivers a new experience for guests offering the most recently released titles, and replaces almost 20% of the nearly 5,000 slots and electronic table games.

“If you think the casino floor looks different, you are right,” said Ryan Munroe, Executive Director of Slot Operations for Empire City Casino. “In my 15 years working at Empire City, I can’t remember a time where we’ve had so many new games hit the gaming floor over a relatively short time period.”

New week, new game!
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Have you tried this new slot machine on our gaming floor? pic.twitter.com/wBS1HgmU6G
— Empire City Casino (@EmpireCCasino) February 7, 2023

3. Wildfire Casino on Fremont to open doors today
Today at noon PT, Wildfire Casino on Fremont in Las Vegas will officially open its doors to the public.

The new 21,000-square-foot casino boasts over 200 slot machines, plus bar-top gaming and electronic table games all connected to Station Casinos Boarding Pass program.

The location in Downtown Las Vegas will feature dining offerings including IHOP and Tacos El Pastor. Guests can also enjoy a gaming experience at the STN Sportsbook, featuring over-the-counter activation and wagering, kiosks and seating for sports viewing.

2. Potential start date for Massachusetts mobile sports betting
About two weeks ago, the three land-based casinos in Massachusetts (Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park Casino) started to accept the first sports wagers. Now, Massachusetts’ sports bettors may only be a month away from seeing online sportsbooks do the same.

Yesterday morning, a potential launch date of Friday, 10 March for mobile sports betting in the Bay State was put on the table by Karen Wells, the state's Gaming Commission Executive Director.

Many sports fans can get behind that date as it would be just in time for March Madness, which is set to begin on 14 March.

Three weeks ago, the Gaming Commission began determining which operators were suitable to hold an online sports betting license, and the big names already present in many states throughout the U.S. are on the list including DraftKings and FanDuel.

This morning, a possible launch date of 10 March for mobile sports betting in Massachusetts was put on the table by Karen Wells, the state's Gaming Commission Executive Director. To read more go to the @casinocity_dan article at https://t.co/pcpSFjABKc pic.twitter.com/OgB4jXyEAR
— Casino City (@casinocity) February 9, 2023

1. Top 10 Super Bowl LVII bets
The NFC Champs are slightly favored (-1.5) over the best from the AFC. The moneyline is just the tip of the iceberg as many know when it comes to Super Bowl betting.

Both Super Bowl LVII teams come into the game with their respective sack specialists. Defensive tackle Chris Jones leads the way for the Kansas City Chiefs, as he’s coming off a two-sack, five-quarterback hits, and six quarterback pressures in the 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game, not to mention he recorded 15.5 sacks in the regular season. Linebacker Haason Reddick is the straw that stirs the defensive drink for the Philadelphia Eagles, as he’s coming off a two-sack, fumble-strip recovery in the 31-7 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game. Reddick’s three-and-a-half total sacks in this year’s playoffs in addition to his regular season total leaves him at 19.5 for the season. With the over/under hovering around 6.5 sacks depending on the sportsbook, our Casino City team likes the over for sacks in this one.

We also looked the first play of the game. Both teams have scored exactly 546 points so far this year and they didn’t get to that number by playing conservatively. That being said, we aren’t predicting a 60-yard bomb on the opening play, but an opening drive pass play seems more likely than a run. Something like a five- or six-yard out route to get an easy completion and help its quarterback settle down.

Then there is the traditional spread bet as always for the Super Bowl and despite having a layup win in the NFC title game, we think the Eagles cover -1.5 in this contest and hoist the Lombardi trophy Sunday night. Fly Eagles, Fly!

Take it from the top#SBLVII | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/gTOFKSSMLP
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 9, 2023