Sports betting has arrived to L’Auberge Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) -Sports betting has finally made its way to Baton Rouge.

On Monday, Nov. 1, the first legal sports bet was made at L’Auberge Casino & Hotel.

The first bet was placed by former LSU quarterback Rohan Davey.

“I think this is what’s going to attract more people to the city,” said Davey.

Davey was joined side by side with a host of other Tiger greats, like former baseball coach Paul Mainieri, former gymnastics coach Sara “D-D” Breaux, former LSU football player T-Bob Hebert, former baseball player Mikie Mahtook, and Jordy Culotta.

“People in Louisiana love their sports, they love to game, they love to have their favorite teams, so I think it’s a real natural thing here,” said Mainieri.

Voters in Louisiana decided to legalize sports betting last June in 55 of the state’s 64 parishes.

As a part of the state’s deal to legalize sports betting, the revenue generated will go towards helping manage the state’s budget, assist local governments, and fund early childhood education.

“Obviously more business means more tax revenue which can only help different agencies in our state, but we’re just excited to finally see it in Louisiana,” said Kim Ginn, L’Auberge Casino VP & GM.

The first bet was a 3-team parlay placed by Davey.

“I got a big thousand that I put down on it,” said Davey.

The parlay included bets on the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the New York Giants, the Houston Astros to defeat the Atlanta Braves, and the LSU Tigers to cover the spread against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

If he wins, the payout could be over $6,000.

“We’ll see what happens. We’ll see if we can hit for that big six,” said Davey.

However, that wasn’t even the biggest bet of the night.

A man who told us to just call him “Pete” put down $10K on a bet.

“We just made some big college bets on Saturday. That’s all,” he told us.

This is something many people believe will be a great asset for Baton Rouge and the rest of the state.

“If you’re in Lafeyette, in Baton Rouge, or around the surrounding area, come and support it,” Davey said.

The current sports book at L’Auberge is a temporary location. The casino will begin construction on a permanent spot in January 2022. The goal is to have it open by June 2022.

Louisiana Gaming Control Board Commissioner Ronnie Johns told us in an interview last week that we’re still “months” from the start of mobile gaming. He said officials are “working overtime” to get that squared away.

He also said other casinos around the state could receive their sports betting licenses in the coming weeks.

Click here to report a typo.

Copyright 2021 WAFB. All rights reserved.