PlaySugarHouse.com New Jersey Hits Record Numbers for NFL Draft Round One

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Apr 24, 2020, 14:45 ET

COLLINGSWOOD, N.J., April 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The NFL Draft Round One produced record-setting handle for PlaySugarHouse.com in New Jersey and a plethora of first-round surprises. Here are some highlights:

Both handle and bet counts are already triple last year's numbers for the full draft even though we are only a day into the 3 day event.

76% of all sports betting handle yesterday at PlaySugarHouse.com in New Jersey was bet on the NFL. The overwhelming majority was wagered on the draft, although there was some betting on futures and non-draft props.

The largest bet of the day was a nearly $5000 bet on the first wide receiver being drafted to be CeeDee Lamb of Oklahoma. In fact, Lamb to be the first receiver taken was the most popular bet of the entire night. He was third behind Alabama wide receivers Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy. Ruggs was taken as the 12^th overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders and was a first-round surprise. Jeudy was selected 15^th, by the Denver Broncos, and Lamb was taken 17^th, by the Dallas Cowboys. Ruggs had the fastest time of any player in the NFL Combine. Ruggs returned +400 as the first receiver taken and combined with Jeudy and Lamb to pay bettors +650 in a unique trifecta wager. It required the bettor to select the top three receivers taken, in exact order.

The New York Giants produced the first-and largest first-round betting surprise by taking offensive tackle Andrew Thomas of Georgia as the fourth pick. He was +1000. The Giants had been expected to take either Tristan Wirfs of Iowa or Isaiah Simmons from Clemson in that spot. Both Wirfs and Simmons had been showcased in wagers to be drafted in the Top 5 overall.

Another popular prop was Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama to be the second quarterback drafted. The majority of players won on this bet. After LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was the first player selected in the draft, Tagovailoa was taken fifth by the Miami Dolphins. This also rewarded bettors who pegged him to be taken by Miami.

Another highly-popular prop was how many wide receivers were drafted in the first round. The bet was over-under 5.5. The over won as there were 6.

One bet receiving strong play was over 0.5 running backs to be taken in the first round. This bet won on the final pick in the first round with Clyde Edwards-Helaire going to the Super Bowl champion Chiefs.

Offensive linemen were quite popular in round 1. The over/under opened at 5.5, but moved to 6.5 close to draft night, with the line closing at 6.5 over -200. There were seven linemen drafted, rewarding the over bettors.

Still open: Cole Kmet of Notre Dame to be the first tight end taken is one of the 10 most popular bets PlaySugarHouse.com received, and with no tight ends off the board in the first round, this bet is still open and available to be bet.

Xavier McKinney from Alabama was the most bet safety to be the first to come off the board. With no safeties drafted in the first round, this bet is also still open.

"This was an outstanding opening night for the NFL draft," said Mattias Stetz, C.O.O of Rush Street Interactive, which operates PlaySugarHouse.com. "We are delighted with the strong wagering action and how bettors supported many imaginative prop bets. They really prepared well for the draft and they weren't afraid to bet heavily on some long shots."

ABOUT RUSH STREET INTERACTIVE

Founded in 2012, Chicago-based Rush Street Interactive (RSI) launched its first betting site, PlaySugarHouse.com, in New Jersey in September 2016. The company subsequently made history by becoming the first operator in the United States to offer a fully integrated online sportsbook and casino. In addition, RSI was the first company to launch legal online sportsbooks both in Pennsylvania (PlaySugarHouse.com) and Indiana (BetRivers.com) as well as being the first to open a legal sportsbook in the state of New York (@ Rivers Casino in Schenectady) and, most recently, in Illinois (@ Rivers Casino in Des Plaines). RSI also operates in-casino sportsbooks at Rivers Casinos in Pittsburgh & Philadelphia and at the historic French Lick Resort in Indiana. BetRivers.com is also the exclusive official sportsbook partner for the Philadelphia Flyers & Wells Fargo Center. RSI was the first US-based gaming operator to launch a legal and regulated online sportsbook in Latin America (RushBet.co in Colombia). Rush Street Interactive is also the developer and operator of a leading social gaming platform currently deployed at the group's affiliated land-based casinos and selected third party partners. Rush Street Interactive was named "Mobile Operator of the Year" in North America at the EGR North America Awards 2019 and "American Operator of the Year" & "Casino Operator of the Year" at the American Gambling Awards in 2019. For more information, visit rushstreetinteractive.com.

SOURCE Rush Street Interactive