As expected, Monmouth Park — via its oddsmaking partner William Hill — became the first New Jersey operator to accept bets on Thursday. Lots of famous faces and key stakeholders came out for the momentous event, which also teemed with long-suffering East Coast bettors who wanted to take part in the celebration. By Friday, however, things had calmed down. That provided a good opportunity to conduct an early appraisal of the wagering menu, odds and overall vibe of New Jersey’s first sportsbook to go live.
Getting to the window
I arrived about 20 minutes prior to kickoff between Morocco and Iran, the second of three World Cup games on the slate. There were six windows open, and just a handful of people in each line. Sportsbook managers were roaming behind the ticket writers, stepping in to provide information to novice bettors, counsel the ticket writers and answers questions as needed. Odds were visible on a bank of approximately 20 LED TVs, but for World Cup games, only 2-way lines were posted.
When I got to the window, I called out the number of my first bet, $100 on the Morocco-Iran under. Once that was locked in, I said I wanted $50 on the Morocco 3-way line.
The book manager who was hovering behind the ticket writer then asked me if I had the number for the bet. I told him that only the 2-way lines were posted on the board. He responded that the lines rotate between 2-way and 3-way, which wasn’t the case. After a slight delay, the number was retrieved, punched into the terminal and out popped my second ticket.
Surveying the landscape
Since Monmouth Park is a racetrack, there’s a ton of space in the facility. There are essentially two separate sportsbooks, the one within the main concourse of the track where I laid my action, and another smaller set of windows inside the sports bar adjacent to the big book. In other words, there’s no shortage of options for getting bets down and then finding a spot to watch games.
Assessing the betting menu and odds
With everything from World Cup to MLB to NFL to U.S. Open matchups to Canadian Football, availability of sports was not an issue. The same cannot be said of odds, specifically on the futures market. Public World Cup teams were substantially shaded relative to the market (ex. Brazil 3/1; Argentina 9/2; France 11/2), and a handful of NFL prices were downright outlandish (ex. 49ers 10/1; Raiders 12/1).
When I returned to the window at halftime of the Morocco-Iran game inquiring how long it would be before second-half lines were posted, one of the sportsbook managers said second-half numbers were being offered on “a case-by-case basis” for World Cup games. On a second attempt, a different book manager told me there were no second-half lines for the World Cup. When I asked if that was William Hill-specific or Monmouth Park-specific, the manager responded, “It’s specific to here.” Probably not the best thing to reveal.
Rewards Club
Smack in the middle of the main concourse was a table plugging the Monmouth Park Rewards Club. The signup process entailed filling out a basic information form and a driver’s license scan. A reading of the fine print on the back of the signup sheet (which necessitated snapping a photo of it, since a copy of the sheet is not provided to members) gives way to one conclusion: The Rewards Club is not very … rewarding.
For each dollar wagered on a straight bet, a member receives 1 “Sports Point.” For each dollar wagered on parlay or teaser, it’s 2 Sports Points, and for each dollar on a parlay card, it’s 5 Sports Points. Each 1,000 Sports Points accrued results in $1 in free bets. Which is to say that in order to receive a free $50 bet, a member must place either $50,000 in straight bets, $25,000 in exotic bets or $10,000 on parlay cards. LOL.
As if that’s not enough, Rewards Club members can only accrue points via land-based wagering at Monmouth Park and Ocean Resort in Atlantic City. In other words, once mobile betting is available (tentatively mid-July), any mobile bets won’t be eligible for Sports Points. Suffice to say I don’t recommend the Rewards Club.
Final thoughts
Between low-value future prices, the absence of second-half lines for the world’s biggest sporting event and a Rewards Club that feels much closer to a tracking device than a perk program, it’s tough to give anything more than a tepid endorsement of Monmouth Park. For recreational bettors who no longer want to have to deal with neighborhood bookies or offshore sites, this book will suffice. But anyone looking for a competitive wagering menu and fair-market prices would be wise to wait for other operators to get up and running in the state.
The Menu
The Odds
The Book
Overall