Atlantic City Bally's, Harrah's and Golden Nugget in the race towards sports betting

The three Atlantic City casino properties are taking measures to get ahead of their game in the wake of the sports wager licensing process.

Bally’s Atlantic City and Harrah’s Resort have submitted requests to amend their Certificates of Operation and Casino Hotel Alcoholic Beverage licenses to reconfigure areas of their gaming floors to make space for sports books, according to petitions received by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Both properties, along with Golden Nugget Atlantic City, also have submitted applications for casino key employee licenses for sportsbook supervisors.

Bally’s, Caesars Atlantic City and Harrah’s are all operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp.

The petition from Bally’s proposes using 3,648 square feet inside Wild Wild West for a temporary sports book. Seating, tables and video displays will be installed and existing cashier windows will be reopened to take sports wagers. The total number of slots and table games will not change.

The Harrah’s petition proposes eliminating 11 slot machines and installing video displays, seating and furniture for a temporary sports book area. The petition also proposes a modification to the satellite Total Rewards Center for sports wagering windows.

Both petitions were approved subject to several conditions, including the properties being issued sports-betting licenses. Caesars Entertainment was reported to have applied for sports-betting licences for both properties.

Golden Nugget has applied for a key casino employee license for Joseph N. Nicosia to be the casino’s sports book manager. Reportedly, Golden Nugget has also applied for a sports-betting license.