Monmouth: Shore enough, crowds flock to wager big

Sundays will never be the same at Monmouth Park’s William Hill sportsbook.

The first weekend of the NFL regular season, with sports betting now legal in New Jersey, saw hundreds of people flood the Oceanport racetrack.

After the doors opened at 8 a.m., the crowd thickened around 11 with thousands of wagers being taken as lines of 20 or more people consistently. stretched from the 14 betting windows. More than 400 people filled the venue between noon and 1 p.m. and tables at the bar required a reservation.

“I love what they’ve done with the sports betting, man,” said James Costable, who secured two tables in the sports bar. “They have made not only a fortune, but they have provided us degenerates with a place to enjoy all games without the hassle of setting it up.”

Eli Manning, Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr. jerseys filled the venue as fans watched the Giants fall to the Jaguars, 20-15, along with all of the other 1 p.m. games scattered across the televisions. It wasn’t completely a partisan Giants crowd as many bettors put their money on the Jaguars, who were 3-point favorites at William Hill.

“I’ll put it to you this way, we opened the doors at 8 and it didn’t slow down until 2,” said a William Hill supervisor who did not want to be named. “We have been preparing for this, though. Baseball was good, but football was going to the big hit for us. The turnout was very exciting. There’s a learning curve but we were able to get through it smoothly.”

Giants fan Greg Curto, 31, of Nassau County said he couldn’t fathom betting against Big Blue.

“I’ll never bet against my boys and I really think with our new coach we’ll be back on top,” said Curto, who placed a $250 moneyline bet on the Giants (+130).

New Jersey’s new gambling laws, which went into effect in June, also brought plenty of firsttime bettors to Monmouth Park.

They, like the sports book itself, were still working out all the details during Week 1.

“I did every possible thing wrong,” said Marcus Witthers, 42, who put $20 on the Steelers. “I took out my phone, I told the woman [at the window] Steelers instead of the number of the team. It was very embarrassing, but they helped me out.”