Atlantic City is a haven for sports bettors. With eight of New Jersey’s 10 sportsbooks located in the famed casino town, bettors never have to venture far to get a wager in. Five of the books are located on the Boardwalk with the three others across town in the Marina District.
Boardwalk sportsbooks
- DraftKings Sportsbook at Resorts Atlantic City
- William Hill Sportsbook at Wild Wild West
- Hard Rock Sportsbook Atlantic City
- William Hill Sportsbook at Ocean Resort
- William Hill Sportsbook at Tropicana Atlantic City
Marina District sportsbooks
- William Hill Sportsbook at Harrah's Resort
- The Sportsbook at Golden Nugget Atlantic City
- BetMGM Sportsbook & Bar at Borgata
So what’s the best sportsbook in Atlantic City? Well, that’s a complicated answer because choosing a best sportsbook is like choosing a best restaurant — you can’t unless you know what you’re looking for. Do you want Thai, Mexican, or sushi? A romantic atmosphere, a family setting or a raucous vibe with a live band? You see what I’m getting at.
Sportsbooks are no different and you really need to think about why you’re going before you make the choice of where to go. Do you want a place where you can sit and concentrate on making winning bets? Or are you more in it for the big screens and a party atmosphere?
Regardless of what you’re looking for in a sportsbook, Atlantic City has you covered. Let’s dig into the best that AC has to offer.
Best screens
It’s hard to go wrong here as all of the sportsbooks in Atlantic City were built within the last year or so and therefore feature high-quality screens, TVs, and video walls. However, one of the newest books in town, The Book at Bally's Wild Wild West Casino, takes the cake for best screens with its giant LED video wall that is 98 feet wide by 18 feet tall and offers a crystal-clear resolution. The video wall is so big that you can see it from the Boardwalk, which is roughly 100 yards away.
The impressive video wall at The Book at Bally's Wild Wild West Casino in Atlantic City
But make no mistake, Bally's isn't the only place with huge screens and if you’re in search of a huge video wall, three other properties in AC standout: Tropicana, Ocean, and DraftKings. Tropicana and Ocean both have the advantage of having their sportsbook right on the casino floor, meaning they have high ceilings. Both properties have used this to their advantage with huge video walls suspended high above the sportsbooks. DraftKings doesn’t have the same high ceilings but still has two massive video walls that are basically at eye level.
One of the main video walls at the William Hill Sportsbook at Ocean Resort Atlantic City.
Best seats
Again, you can't miss here as most of the sportsbooks in Atlantic City have a full complement of seating options. But, when it comes to the most comfortable lounge chair in town, one property stands out and that’s the William Hill Sportsbook at Ocean Resort with its plush, brown, leather armchairs that feature cup holders and USB ports for charging. All of the other sportsbooks in AC except the Hard Rock feature some sort of lounge or sofa seating.
The new sportsbooks at Bally's comes in at a close second in terms of seating with its theatre-style recliners that feature dual armrests. All 102 seats are pointed directly at the giant video wall, ensuring you have a great view of all the games going on.
If you’re looking for a standard table-and-chair setup, you’ll be set at any of the properties except for DraftKings (it has a drink rail instead). And if you want to saddle up at a bar, you’ll want to head to either Ocean, DraftKings, or Hard Rock as these are the only three with a dedicated bar in the sportsbook.
The lounge chairs at the William Hill Sportsbook at Ocean Resort Atlantic City.
Best food
This is a tough one to judge as almost every sportsbook in Atlantic City allows bettors to bring in food from other restaurants on the property — in fact, only DraftKings does not allow this. This means that the options are pretty much endless as each casino has half a dozen or more restaurant options.
One that stood out to us, however, was White House Subs, the Atlantic City deli that was founded in 1946. The original location is at 2301 Arctic Ave. but sports bettors will be happy that there’s a location that’s open late inside the Hard Rock. My recommendation: a cheesesteak with provolone, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and hot pepper relish.
A cheesesteak sub from the Hard Rock location of White House Subs Atlantic City.
The Book at Harrah's also gets a shoutout for the best food in Atlantic City sportsbooks because of the AC Burger Co. The menu is pub fare with soups/salads, starters, munchies, sandwiches and burgers but AC Burger Co. and wow is it good. When we visited, we tried the wings and taters, the pastrami sandwich on rye, and the Jersey Devil burger — and we topped it all off with spiked shakes.
Best drinks
As all of the sportsbooks have access to full bars, we’re not going to judge the sportsbooks by the selection of drinks available but instead the proximity of the bars to the betting areas. There are four clear winners in this regard as Ocean, DraftKings, Hard Rock, and Bally's all feature dedicated bars inside the sportsbook. Bally's really stands out, however, with its Beer Yourself wall with over a dozen different beers on tap. Simply go to the bar, get a card, and refill your mug whenever you please.
The Beer Yourself Wall at The Book at Bally's Wild Wild West Casino
The bar at the Hard Rock Sportsbook Atlantic City.
But let's be honest — it's easy to get a drink at just about every sportsbook in Atlantic City. The books that don’t have bars inside the sportsbook all have bars nearby and/or waiter service.
If it's free drinks you're in search of, let me start by saying this isn't Las Vegas. Free drinks just aren't given out that often in Atlantic City to sports bettors. The Caesars properties (Harrah's and Bally's) offer a free drink ticket for a $50 bet placed, but most sportsbooks simply don't offer free drinks. There are free drinks on the casino floors, however, so if you really need that free beer, head to the nearest penny slot, drop a few coins in and order a drink from the waitress (and don't forget to tip).
Best promotions
There wasn’t a whole lot of promotions going on in the brick-and-mortar sportsbooks when we visited in April 2019. The Hard Rock had a nice food promotion, however, where bettors who placed a $100 bet and got a coupon for a free Hard Rock Legendary Burger at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Another promotion that caught our eye was the all day (Monday - Friday) happy hour at DraftKings with $4 draft beer, $6 well drinks and $1 off all food items. Although it’s not advertised as a promotion, the Caesars properties (Bally’s Wild Wild West and Harrah’s) also give out free drink tickets for wagers of $50 or more (max. two tickets per bettor per day).
Best VIP area
Toss up here between DraftKings Sportsbook at Resorts and the William Hill Sportsbook at Tropicana Atlantic City.
DraftKings likely gets the edge as its VIP area is tucked away from the main area of the sportsbook. Located in the back right of the sportsbook, there is seating for 50 broken up into four different booths with leather sofas and tables facing its own video wall. VIP booths can be reserved with a minimum food and drink spend of $50 per person.
Tropicana’s VIP seating is broken out into several booths on a raised platform in the middle of the sportsbook. The booths vary in sizes and consist of leather sofas and tables. Your view will depend on where you’re seated but, with the wrap-around video wall in Tropicana, everyone in your party should have a decent look at a screen. VIP seating at Tropicana costs $50 per head or is available to Tropicana Black Card or William Hill VIP card members.
The VIP area at the William Hill Sportsbook at Tropicana Atlantic City.
Overall best sportsbook
Again, it’s extremely tough to name a best sportsbook as it really depends on what you’re looking for. But in taking all of the factors above into consideration, we’ll have to give the title to The Book at Bally's Wild Wild West Casino because of its massive video wall, theatre-style chairs and, of course, the Beer Yourself Wall. Coming in a close second is the William Hill Sportsbook at Ocean Resort. With its huge video walls that circle the book, its ridiculously comfortable lounge chairs, and its in-book sports bar, it’s a must-visit for all sports bettors heading to Atlantic City.
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