New Jersey begins taking legal sports bets
OCEANPORT, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey's governor kicked off a new era of gambling Thursday in the state that led the charge for the entire nation to bet on sports legally.
Gov. Phil Murphy placed $20 bets on Germany to win the World Cup soccer tournament, and the New Jersey Devils to win hockey's Stanley Cup next season.
Murphy plunked his money down at a counter inside Monmouth Park, a horse racing track in Oceanport, near the Jersey shore. The wagers came a month after New Jersey won a U.S. Supreme Court case clearing the way for all 50 states to legalize sports betting if they choose.
From there, he was headed to the Borgata, the first Atlantic City casino to offer sports betting, where he planned to make another bet or two.