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Former Revel Casino bringing in heavy hitter to run its sportsbook

The Ocean Resort Casino, on the site of the former Revel, has enlisted William Hill US, the largest sportsbook operator in Vegas.

The Ocean Resort in Atlantic City has planned a 7,500-square-foot sportsbook that will have betting boards similar to the ones here in the background at the South Point hotel-casino in Las Vegas.
The Ocean Resort in Atlantic City has planned a 7,500-square-foot sportsbook that will have betting boards similar to the ones here in the background at the South Point hotel-casino in Las Vegas.Read moreJohn Locher / AP
    by Ed Barkowitz | Columnist
    Published 

It won't be open for another month, but the Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City already has booked its first guest. In gaming terms, it has hooked a whale.

The William Hill company, the most prolific sportsbook in Vegas, will oversee the Ocean Resort's sports gambling operations. The Ocean Resort is the former Revel Casino, at the north end of the AC boardwalk.

Business is contingent, of course, on the New Jersey legislature's approval of sports betting, which could come within the next week or so. The floodgates to that process were opened when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a nationwide ban on sports betting outside of Nevada on May 14. The Ocean Resort will open June 28.

[New Jersey off to a quick start after momentous Supreme Court decision]

The plan is for a 7,500-square-foot sportsbook at Ocean Resort that will be in the "heart of the casino's gaming floor," according to a release from William Hill. By comparison, the sportsbook at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, is 5,600 square feet, a decent size compared with many along the Vegas Strip.

William Hill is not connected to the Bellagio, but it is partners with Monmouth Park and is similarly ready to pounce there once sports betting is approved in the Garden State.

Delaware also is close to offering full sports betting, after offering NFL parlay cards for nearly 10 years, while Pennsylvania appears to be at least several months away.