Casinos and Sportsbooks, Bound Together
Whether you’re out on the Strip or gambling online, you see the same thing: casinos and sportsbooks, operating out of the same venue. It seems like a natural fit – both provide licensed betting to their customers. The clientele is much the same; Blackjack players love to bet on sports, while handicappers often switch hats and hit the Roulette tables. The two are joined at the hip.
But just as there was a time before chocolate and peanut butter bumped into each other, there was a time when casinos and sportsbooks were separate entities. The initial Turf Club books in Nevada that opened in the 1950s had a deal with the hotels: We’ll stay out of the casino’s business if you stay out of ours. That lasted until 1975, when Frank Rosenthal was allowed to open a book at the Stardust.
The Turf Clubs folded like a card table, unable to compete with the new business model. The same thing is happening to a large extent with the Internet; the Stardust closed up shop for good two years ago, along with the Klondike and many other venues. But there will continue to be a demand for the unique experience available on the Strip. Meanwhile, sportsbooks and casinos are doing business together right here at Bodog.
The same kind of brains that goes into being a good handicapper will serve you well at the casino. Blackjack is a favorite because it takes the form of a matchup between the player and the dealer. The odds of success after the deal are different depending on which cards are showing. If you have J-2 and the dealer is showing a 4, 5 or 6, your chances are maximized if you stay on 12. Memorizing the odds for games like Blackjack, craps and Baccarat should be child’s play if you’re already juggling 53-man NFL rosters.
Many handicappers prefer to turn their brains off entirely and play the slots. As a form of entertainment, slot machines provide the anticipation and the thrill of victory without requiring any real skill – other than knowing how to manage your bankroll, of course. 
That should be a given for any type of wagering, but it goes double for casino games. There is no square public putting dead money into the betting pool. It’s you against the house.
Looking at it from the other direction, picture a casino player on the Strip wandering into a sportsbook for the first time. The familiar rush of sight and sound comes from a wall of television screens instead of a row of one-arm bandits. With the pointspread factored in, a blind bet on either team in a football game has the same theoretical value as a bet on red or black at Roulette. The juice is different in each case, and a football game is a much more complex outcome generator than a Roulette wheel, but the win/lose dynamic is the same.
The online sportsbook experience is likewise something that should appeal to casino players. Again, there is an emphasis on odds, usually in typical two-outcome situations like win/lose and over/under. The betting interface is simple, there is an online community to join, and best of all, you can increase your chances of winning by applying some of that gray matter and studying the sports in question.
Bodog has easy access to our online sportsbook, online casino and poker rooms available directly from our home page. New players can try out casino games for free, read tutorials and become entirely comfortable with the process before spending a single dime.
Wearing a tux or a cocktail dress while playing is entirely up to you.
