OCEANPORT, NEW JERSEY ¨C With two $20 bets and a rambunctious crowd awaiting their turn, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy placed the state¡¯s very first legal sports bets on Thursday, capping a years-long battle to end the ban on sports betting in the Garden State.
¡°This is a huge step forward for gaming, for the tracks, for the economy of this state,¡± Murphy said before placing his bets, with a crowd of media swarming him as he stepped to the counter at Monmouth Park Racetrack.
Murphy¡¯s wagers ¡ª that Germany will win the World Cup and the New Jersey Devils will take home hockey¡¯s Stanley Cup next year ¡ª may not seem monumental.
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