Live! Casino Philadelphia is located inside the Stadium District in South Philadelphia. Despite the Eagles getting booted from the NFL Wild Card round, Live! Casino Philadelphia is still in a prime location for what’s going to be a busy Super Bowl Sunday. The South Philadelphia casino is expecting one of the biggest days since opening.
PlayPennsylvania spoke with Bryan Newman, General Manager of FanDuel Sportsbook and Lounge at Live! Casino Philadelphia, to get some insights on football’s biggest game this weekend and how the lack of the Eagles playing might affect Super Bowl betting in Pennsylvania.
Live! Casino Philadelphia relying on high-roller bettors for Super Bowl LVIII
Just because the Eagles aren’t participating in the Super Bowl like last season doesn’t mean Live! Casino Philadelphia won’t be busy. While it is purely speculation, Newman told PlayPennsylvania he expects the handle to dip about 15% from last year.
“Regardless of who the teams are, I think we’re going to get a considerable amount of action,” Newman said. “Probably not to the extent of last year for obvious reasons, but we’ll still have one of our strongest days since opening.”
The handle is going to be helped by a couple of guests who are expected to place sizable wagers for the game. Newman said these bettors come from southern states where sports betting is not legal, unlike sports betting in Pennsylvania, which has been live since 2018.
The guests chose Live! Casino Philadelphia because of the reputation, and have made trips to bet at the property multiple times on big events. It’s a relationship that must be managed.
“We have a really good rapport,” Newman said. “It’s nice, we text back and forth throughout the year talking about games and that relationship really plays a part in them coming back to Live! Casino Philadelphia and that’s something they really like.”
Should the bettors qualify, Live! Casino Philadelphia offers complimentary services, such as a free stay in the hotel.
Chiefs-49ers is the Super Bowl matchup Live! Philadelphia preferred
The Eagles playing in the game would have driven even more action. However, Chiefs-49ers is still a good pairing for Live! Casino Philadelphia in two respects.
In terms of liability, this Super Bowl matchup is perfect for the PA casino. The property’s top three Super Bowl favorites have already been knocked out, which include:
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Buffalo Bills
- Dallas Cowboys
Regarding the game itself, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and now, Taylor Swift, are commanding plenty of attention from the public. The 49ers, currently a huge rival of the Eagles, is a must-watch team in its own right. Newman did note the Swift effect. He said:
“As you know, we have Taylor Swift-mania going on. It brings in your average bettor that doesn’t typically come in unless they’ve heard of Taylor Swift or Travis Kelce. So you get that crowd along with the 49ers who have consistently been the best team the entire season. I think we’ll get a lot of new traffic coming in and those two things alone will really drive business.”
Newman continued on Swift:
“We’ve definitely seen some anti-Taylor Swift bettors coming into the sportsbook. The casual bettor likes the Taylor Swift story and the novice bettor sees it as a distraction.”
Admittedly, Newman doesn’t know to what degree that role plays. However, the line moved from Chiefs +1.5 to +2.5, indicating that more money has come in on the 49ers.
Live! Casino Philadelphia expects it to be the second-best Super Bowl Sunday, in terms of handle, since opening in January 2021.
