Legal sports betting opens to fanfare in Kentucky; governor makes the first wager
By BRUCE SCHREINER
Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has placed a $20 bet to signal that legal sports wagering is off and running in the Bluegrass State. The Democratic governor placed the first sports bet Thursday at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. It fulfilled a pledge that his administration would launch sports wagering in time for the NFL season. Beshear bet that the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville football teams will win more games this season than odds-makers predict and that Duke University will win fewer games than projected. Duke is a long-running basketball rival for both Kentucky and Louisville.