The sports world was shaken by the sudden death of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant in a January 26 helicopter crash. To honor the LA Lakers shooting guard, several sportsbooks including Circa Sports Las Vegas and Atlantic City’s Resorts Casino halted NBA betting temporarily, and Ocean Casino Resort in AC lit up its rooftop globe as a basketball the night of his death. Bryant, 41, died when a helicopter carrying him, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others to a youth basketball game crashed in heavy fog near Calabasas, California.
“For everyone asking, yes, our NBA betting menu is closed for the remainder of the day and will reopen tomorrow at 8am,” @CircaSports tweeted after the tragedy, reported Casino.org.
Resorts Atlantic City followed, tweeting, “Due to the unfortunate loss of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, we are paying our respects by closing all NBA markets for the evening—we will reopen these markets at 9am tomorrow morning.”
In another tribute, Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California was awash in purple and gold lights, and put together a memorial to Bryant, who visited Pechanga several times with the Lakers to raise money for charity through the Lakers Youth Foundation and for team shoot arounds at the Pechanga Recreation Center on the reservation.
A statement from Pechanga said, “The team’s visits are always memorable, and the memorial will continue for days to come to help commemorate Kobe and his many contributions to our world.”
Bryant was an 18-time All-Star player and two-time NBA Finals MVP. His daughter, Gianna, hoped to follow in his footsteps as a player for the WNBA.
