Election Special: “The biggest political event ever”

Not every bettor was pro-Trump: “Whilst more money has been bet on Donald Trump, it could be telling that the ten biggest stakes are all on Joe Biden,” said a Betfair spokesman, in what may be an outdated sentiment, while the last-minute surge was no surprise to Betfair’s Paul Krishnamurty, who told Newsweek “That’s what we always see at the end of an election where the people get more confident about the market and the big hitters enter.” Even if Trump doesn’t come back—and he’s already grousing about the outcome, as we knew he would—betting houses will probably be paying out hand over fist in an election cycle where almost nothing went according to the script. Sen Ted Cruz‘s feared “blue tsunami” failed to materialize, as candidates like Sara Gideon and Mike Espy did face-plants, perhaps from having believed too much in their own polling data. (However, The Squad crushed it in all reelection bids.)

Congressional Gaming Caucus member Rep. Susie Lee (D) is having a near-death experience at the hands of a professional wrestler (it’s still too close to call), while colleagues Reps. Dina Titus (D, pictured) and Mark Amodei (R) cruised to reelection. Another Caucus member, Sen. Martha McSally (R) got dunked in Arizona, meaning that Native American gaming interests must hope to have as a sympathetic an ear in Sen.-elect Mark Kelly (D). Polling guru Nate Silver had a dismal night, not least for having given Trump only 1-in-10 odds. Don’t take any betting tips from that guy. Finally, the Culinary Union political machine needs some oil and lube: Nevada is only leaning blue and the local didn’t come through for anyone except Titus. Sheldon Adelson can take at least one victory lap, having purchased reelection for his favorite senator, Lindsey Graham (R), which means we can look forward to six more years of shrill raillery against Internet gambling.

As for gaming itself, Colorado‘s Constitutional Amendment 77, which removes wager limits and would allow for casinos to offer other game types, such as roulette and craps, passed with 59.5% support. In Louisiana, sports betting won “lopsided approval,” especially around New Orleans (12 parishes), Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Support was as high as 77%. “Sadly, the Pied Piper orchestrates another alluring melody; for too many, the promised enticements result in unfortunate outcomes,” whined Louisiana Family Forum President Gene Mills. The biggest backers of the referendum were, no surprise, DraftKings and FanDuel. The deal’s not entirely done: As many as 10 parishes may hold out and the Lege has to make the solomonic decision of whether to go with mobile wagering (more lucrative) or casino-only, like Mississippi‘s.

Sports betting also won in a landslide in Maryland, 66% to 34%. Wagering on sports in Deadwood was also a winner with South Dakota voters, 58.5% saying ‘aye.’ Racino legalization finally broke through in Nebraska, where a trio of initiatives “overwhelmingly” passed to legalize and codify casino gambling at horse tracks. Congratulations to Ho-Chunk Inc., which kept its eyes on the prize through several election cycles and now reaps the reward. Finishing out a clean sweep for gaming, Norfolk and Portsmouth in Virginia both approved casinos, averaging two-thirds support. “We are moved beyond words by the tremendous display of support we’ve received from the Norfolk community,” said Pamunkey Indian Tribe Chief Robert Gray. Terrific. Now let’s hope erecting a $500 million, state-of-the-art casino is the easy part.