Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders places a sports bet at MotorCity Casino on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Detroit Free Press
It’s no coincidence that sportsbooks at three Detroit casinos opened this week, just in time to capitalize on what they hoped would be their biggest wagering event of the year.
The first weekend of the NCAA tournament brings hordes of people annually to gambling meccas like Las Vegas, Nev., and Atlantic City, N.J., and most spend their days glued to big screens, celebrating and agonizing like the Cinderellas they bet on.
Had the NCAA not cancelled its postseason men’s and women’s basketball tournaments — and all other events — on Thursday, local sportsbooks would have felt a similar rush in the first full week of legalized sports betting in Michigan.