The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, 20 miles south of Pittsburgh in Washington, Pennsylvania, last week became the 12th casino in Pennsylvania to offer a retail sportsbook.
The Sportsbook at Meadows, which opened with a ribbon-cutting on Thursday, was the second regional retail sportsbook to open within a week, closely following the debut of the BetRivers Sportsbook at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh.
The sportsbook is located in the casino space in an area previously branded as Vibe. It features 15 ultra-high-definition televisions, 18 self-serve betting kiosks, five ticket windows and a 26-seat bar with a full dining menu.
Former Steelers players Mel Blount and Rocky Bleier, former Penguins Bryan Trottier and Pierre Larouche and former Pirate John Candelaria were all expected to attend the ribbon-cutting.
Sports betting collected by online and retail Pennsylvania sportsbooks hit a new monthly record in August, taking in about $109 million, according to the state Gaming Control Board. That’s an 84 percent increase over July, attributed mainly to the start of football season.
“Sports bettors almost universally bet on football, so it’s no surprise that even with just one full week of college football games and NFL futures to bet on, that Pennsylvania would experience a significant uptick,” Jessica Welman, a sports betting analyst for PlayUSA.com, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “But with the NFL season now under way and more sportsbooks online, August’s successes are just a precursor to much bigger things ahead.”
