Finally…A Real Sports Book in My Backyard
A man, presumably from Maryland based on his bright orange Baltimore Orioles outfit, sits a few feet away from me on New Year’s Eve inside the Hollywood Casino Sportsbook in Charles Town, WV. Planted in front of the gigantic bank of television sets on the east wall, he fist-pumps and grunts in joy at each goal from the Columbus Blue Jackets, never looking left or right at the other bettors around him. He’s not there to make friends; rather, he’s on a single-minded mission to cash a winning ticket before the ball drops.
Behind me, a gray-haired Texan drawls in excitement every time the Aggies gain a yard or two in the Gator Bowl. He’s friendly, even sending a high-five my way when I tell him we’re on the same side. Not far from him is a Virginia woman teaching the ins and outs of a parlay to her 70-year-old Vietnamese father. Together, as minuscule as it was, we were making some sort of history in that tiny casino corner.
The Skinny
No group, at least in this century, has ever rung in a new year at a legal sports book in West Virginia. A year earlier, the sports book at Hollywood Casino was probably a cashier’s cage or a customer service desk. Now, thanks to progressive lawmaking in the Capitol, you can risk unloading your life savings on a Gonzaga basketball game if you see fit.
On August 30th, 2018, the first legal bet on a sporting event took place at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, followed by the official grand opening a few days later with Washington Redskins legend Joe Theismann.
West Virginia’s sports book isn’t quite like the ones you see on television. It’s not grandiose by any stretch, and if you’re not looking to bet on sports specifically, you’ll likely walk by it without noticing. Yet, for what it lacks in luxury, it makes up in practicality; there’s a live board behind the registers with updated betting odds, at least 25 flat-screen televisions and high-top bar tables like you’d see in any local pub. Patrons can place a sports bet legally, then watch it play out — nothing more, nothing less.
Mission Accomplished
I’ve been betting on sports for about 10 years and I’ve never done it legally at a real sports book. A few years back, it wasn’t even a thought unless I wanted to hop a flight to Las Vegas. Now, though, there’s no flight or real planning involved if the mood strikes.
It took 45 minutes on quiet Northern Virginia roads to get to Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in West Virginia. When I arrived, it was just a casino, complete with oxygen-tanked elderly folks and a cigarette fragrance. The actual sports book, like I mentioned, was equally bland. But going up to a cashier as if I was ordering popcorn at AMC and placing an NFL bet? That, well, was literally a dream come true.