Legal gaming a winning bet for Cape retailers

Keno, NFL parlays increased foot traffic, sales at Cape Region establishments during quiet winter months.

Shayne Edwards works the ticket counter at the Daily Market, where Keno has become a top-selling lottery game. BY MOLLY MACMILLAN

Molly MacMillan

April 18, 2013

Since Keno hit the Cape Region in January and National Football League parlays began at the end of last summer, local sellers report interest in gaming has translated into an overall bump in sales through the quiet winter season.

Brad Alwood, owner of The Daily Market on Savannah Road said Keno has been big business since it became legal Jan. 22. In fact, Keno is now his No. 1 Delaware Lottery seller behind scratch-offs.

Just 10 days after launching Keno sales, the store made its first $600 payout to a winner and now, nearly two months later, the cash wrap is lined with the names of big winners from the store. Anything in excess of $600 must be paid by the Delaware Lottery, Alwood said, but winners can take home as much as $100,000 for a $1 bet.

"We're a very busy lottery store. It's just a lucky store," he said, shrugging as a customer sat down at the lottery table to try his hand at scratch-offs.

For the week ending March 17, representatives from the Delaware State Lottery reported Keno receipts at nearly $900,000 with more than $510,000 in paid out to winners across the state.

Alwood attributes much of Keno's appeal to the ease and immediacy of play,"It's big, it's fun, it's instant, and it's interactive," he said.

In Rehoboth, Nicola Pizza recently became one of four retailers to offer Keno at their bar.

According to owner Nick Caggiano, it's still too early to gauge the true impact gaming will have on his sales, but employee Kyle Short sees it first hand as he facilitates much of the betting from his position at the front counter.

"Some people are just in-and-out, but some people will stay to have a drink and get an appetizer while they are picking up cards," Short said.

Sports Lottery brings new sales

The Daily Market was home to the first ticket wagered in the Delaware Sports Lottery and last season, 10 other Sussex County establishments also began NFL parlaysl.

Caggiano said NFL gaming increased foot traffic at his restaurant, accounting for increased sales on Sundays, but typically not extending throughout the week. The first year, he said, was mostly about learning what to expect.

If last year's sales were any indication, the Delaware Lottery can expect continued growth for sports gambling through through this year as retailer sales showed steady increases from the first month of the lottery, August, through the end of last year.

In September, the first full month of NFL parlays, the Delaware Lottery reported there were more than 90,000 bets amounting to more than $860,000. Players won more than $331,000 and retailers collected nearly $45,000 in commissions statewide.

By December, 2012, those numbers had grown to more than 211,000 bets amounting to a total of nearly $2 million. Players won $1.4 million and retailers earned more than $107,000 in commissions.

Although activity related the new sports lottery was mostly clustered around weekends at J.D. Shucker's Seafood Grill in Peddler's Village, bartender Joshua Huss said he saw a dramatic difference in his sales last winter compared with the year before.

Football betting increased overall sales, he said, noticing the trend extended to Fridays and Saturdays as well.

"We definitely get busier earlier with the parlays," Huss said. "There are newer faces in here this year as opposed to last year."

By the numbers

Keno is a game similar to bingo where players chose up to 10 numbers from a field of 1 though 80. A Delaware Lottery computer continuously generates sets of up to 20 numbers, displayed on a Keno monitor. Available daily from 6:04 a.m. to 12:04 a.m., wagers range from $1 to $20 and wins are based on how many numbers are matched and the amount wagered.

Source: Delaware Lottery

Keno Locations

Rehoboth Beach

Big Sissie's Bar & Grill 37285 Rehoboth Ave.

Double L 37298 Rehoboth Ave.

Gray Hare Tavern 18766 Route 24.

Nicola Pizza 8 N. First St.

Rehoboth Ale House 15 Wilmington Ave.

Lewes

Daily Market 420 Savannah Road

General Store 20798 Route 24

Millsboro

Royal Farms, Route 24 Oak Orchard

Your Neighborhood Store Corp. 34792 Longneck Road

Sports betting

Delaware Sports Lottery wagering is closed for the 2012 season.

Professional football parlay card wagering is a single wager that links multiple wagers, therefore, a player must win their bets on all three games to win the bet. The odds are fixed on parlay cards and the minimum wager is $2.

Source: Delaware Lottery

Sports Lottery Locations

Rehoboth Beach

Nicola Pizza on the Avenue 71 Rehoboth Ave.

Jake's Seafood House 19178 Route 1