March Madness delivers on the court and at Western Pennsylvania casinos, sportsbooks

After weeks of tying up loose ends on carefully crafted brackets, Western Pennsylvanians joined millions of Americans putting their March Madness predictions to the test in a wave that will eclipse Super Bowl LVI’s record-breaking number of bettors.

Predictions are that 45 million people will wager a combined $3.1 billion on what is arguably basketball’s biggest event. That is nearly 70% more bettors compared with the Super Bowl, according to the American Gaming Association. Still, slightly fewer people are expected to wager on this year’s NCAA basketball tournament compared with the past two years, when about 47 million people placed bets. The amount wagered also is expected to be less than in 2019, when wagers reached $8.5 billion.

Still, Pennsylvanians are expected to bet between $210 million and $260 million throughout this year’s tournament, according to Play Pennsylvania, an independent website covering legal and regulated gambling in the state. Those numbers likely will boil down to local casinos, which geared up Thursday for an influx of wagers as teams in the men’s tournament first- and second-round games prepare to tip off at PPG Paints Arena this week.

“Going into these conference tournaments, not even March Madness, but this past week, we had multiple days that it exceeded our best days of March Madness last year,” said Anthony Zrelak, sportsbook manager at Live! Casino Pittsburgh at Westmoreland Mall. “There’s a lot of high expectations this year. There’s been a lot of buzz, a lot of new faces coming from out of town.”

On Pittsburgh’s North Shore, Rivers Casino was experiencing a similar scene, with 200 seats in the sportsbook viewing area sold out, said Andre Barnabei, senior vice president of gaming operations. That is likely to continue throughout the weekend, with only a handful of seats still available over the next several days.

“This is the first year we were able to do it full-go,” Barnabei said of the casino’s new sportsbook. “The very first year was two years ago. Everything was sold out, but everything shut down days before. Last year, (there was) social distancing, so half the seats (were full). We are extremely happy with where we are at.”

According to Zrelak, 2021 was the first year Live! was open for March Madness, which was hampered by covid regulations and a change in the tournament schedule that shifted games from the traditional Thursday through Sunday schedule. As things return to normal this year, Zrelak said he is expecting a “landslide of a difference” for participation.

“Without covid so present this year, we budgeted a large increase in the wagers on the game,” in addition to an increase in attendance, said General Manager Sean Sullivan.

Both casinos attributed a spike in participation during March Madness to a decrease in covid regulations and the casinos’ prominence within the community. Interest in sports betting also has skyrocketed since 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law that prevented most states from legalizing sports betting.

Until then, Nevada was the only state allowed to accept wagers on the outcomes of games. The Supreme Court ruling came in a lawsuit filed by New Jersey officials, who challenged the constitutionality of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Today, sports betting is legal in 30 states plus Washington D.C., according to the AGA.

During March Madness this year, 20.9 million Americans plan to bet at a retail sportsbook, online, with a bookie or casually with friends, an increase from past years. Still, 36.5 million Americans will wager via bracket contests or similar pools, the American Gaming Association said.

By Thursday afternoon, several people had secured seats in front of big-screen televisions at Live! Casino, where many planned to remain for most of the day.

Anthony Stevan, 30, of Derry said he arrived at the casino by 11:30 a.m. and planned to stay well into the evening as games continued to tip off.

“I’ll be placing wagers all day and night,” Stevan said, noting he typically gambles on basketball games.

Steven said he also plans on attending games at PPG Paints Arena on Friday, “but that won’t stop me from coming here to place a wager and then I’ll shoot down there.”

Jim Ungerman, 66, of Trafford said he normally comes out to watch basketball games during March Madness, although he typically doesn’t place any wagers.

“We’re nice and close to the casino here,” said Ungerman, who is retired. “Come out and play a little video poker and watch the game.”

Michael and Kim Pavlic of North Huntingdon began a tradition of taking off work the first Thursday and Friday of March Madness to watch games while supporting local businesses. Michael Pavlic, 52, who is supporting the University of North Carolina, said they began the tradition almost four years ago.

“We started out here today, and we’ll probably start heading back to North Huntingdon a little bit later and stop off at different places and just help different restaurants and bars out during this difficult time,” he said, noting the couple likely will return to the casino over the next few days to place wagers on tournament games.

That trend is expected to continue throughout the weekend at both facilities as people place final wagers before a winner is decided.

“We’re expecting big things,” Zrelak said.