{"id":114799,"date":"2019-09-12T23:20:31","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T06:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=114799"},"modified":"2019-11-29T13:34:29","modified_gmt":"2019-11-29T21:34:29","slug":"paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Hornung, NFL Legend, Helps Horseshoe Southern Indiana Open Sportsbook"},"content":{"rendered":"

ELIZABETH, Ind. \u2013 Horseshoe Southern Indiana celebrated its entry into legalized sports betting Thursday, as more than a hundred people lined up in the riverboat casino to be among the first to make a wager. Officials at the casino, located just outside of Louisville, Ky., didn\u2019t have to stray far to find a celebrity first bettor for The Book, the Caesars-brand sportsbook.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Horseshoe Southern Indiana senior vice president and general manager Brad Seigel (left) shakes hands and thanks Hall-of-Fame football star Paul Hornung for helping to open The Book at the Caesars Entertainment-brand casino. (Image: Casino.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pro Football Hall of Famer and Notre Dame Heisman Trophy winner Paul Hornung made his way to the counter. The Louisville native placed two bets. The first on Green Bay over the Minnesota Vikings. He played for nine seasons from 1957-1966 for the Packers, helping the team win four championships.<\/p>\n

But when it came to selecting this season\u2019s champion, Hornung went with the New Orleans Saints. The Saints actually picked Hornung in their expansion draft more than 50 years ago, but injuries forced him to retire before he could ever suit up for them.<\/p>\n

Sports betting in Indiana officially became legal at the beginning of the month. Since then, several casinos, racinos, and off-track betting parlors have opened their sportsbooks. On Thursday, the Winner’s Circle OTB, which, like Horseshoe, is owned by Caesars Entertainment, opened in Clarksville, and the Tropicana Evansville opened a William Hill sportsbook at its casino.<\/p>\n

\u2018What the People Want\u2019<\/h2>\n

Hornung missed the 1963 season due to his penchant for gambling. He and Detroit Lions lineman Alex Karras \u2013 perhaps better known to some as the actor who played Webster\u2019s adopted dad on the 1980s sitcom of the same name\u00a0 \u2013 were among seven players who were barred for betting on football games. According to media reports at the time, a contrite Hornung admitted betting on college and pro games, sometimes risking as much as $500 on a contest.<\/p>\n

In order to earn reinstatement back in the NFL, Hornung had to voluntarily stop attending the Kentucky Derby<\/a> in his hometown during the off season.<\/p>\n

For years, the professional sports leagues opposed legalizing sports betting, saying that it would hurt the integrity of their games. That\u2019s why Hornung told Casino.org<\/em> it surprised him when the leagues, including the NFL, backtracked on that stance when the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in May 2018.<\/p>\n

Now that it\u2019s legal in Indiana, Hornung joked that he doesn\u2019t have to worry about getting in trouble, like he did as a player.<\/p>\n

I can come legally over here and make a bet on Notre Dame,\u201d he said. \u201cI can watch my old team play, and I can watch the Packers play.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s what the people want,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Horsehoe on the Move<\/h2>\n

The sportsbooks are, for now, set up next to the boat\u2019s nightclub, tucked in a corner of the second floor. However, in about three months \u2013 when the casino moves onto dry land \u2013 the sportsbook will have a much larger footprint as part of a single-floor, 100,000-square-foot, $85 million integrated casino and entertainment venue that will be branded as Caesars Southern Indiana<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

The move and the rebrand come as the Louisville area\u2019s only casino faces increased competition from Churchill Downs across the Ohio River. Last year, the track opened River City Gaming, a historical horse racing (HHR) parlor about 20 minutes from Horseshoe. In the first three months after River City opened, Horseshoe’s revenue dropped by 10 percent<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

On Thursday, the sportsbook helped attract numerous sports fans from across the river, as several bettors donned their University of Louisville and University of Kentucky gear while coming to make wagers on college and pro football games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it,\u201d said Tony Thompson, who came to bet on NFL games, to Casino.org<\/em>. \u201cMy wife might not like it, but I like it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ELIZABETH, Ind. \u2013 Horseshoe Southern Indiana celebrated its entry into legalized sports betting Thursday, as more than a hundred people lined up in the riverboat casino to be among the first to make a wager. Officials at the casino, located just outside of Louisville, Ky., didn\u2019t have to stray far to find a celebrity first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":114800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPaul Hornung, NFL Legend, Helps Horseshoe Casino Open Sportsbook<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hornung, a Louisville native and Heisman Trophy winner, placed the first bets at the southern Indiana sportsbook, wagering on Green Bay, his old team, and the Saints.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paul Hornung, NFL Legend, Helps Horseshoe Casino Open Sportsbook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hornung, a Louisville native and Heisman Trophy winner, placed the first bets at the southern Indiana sportsbook, wagering on Green Bay, his old team, and the Saints.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-13T06:20:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-11-29T21:34:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190912_141135.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"4032\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2268\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/\",\"name\":\"Paul Hornung, NFL Legend, Helps Horseshoe Casino Open Sportsbook\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190912_141135.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-13T06:20:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-11-29T21:34:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\"},\"description\":\"Hornung, a Louisville native and Heisman Trophy winner, placed the first bets at the southern Indiana sportsbook, wagering on Green Bay, his old team, and the Saints.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190912_141135.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190912_141135.jpg\",\"width\":4032,\"height\":2268,\"caption\":\"(Image: Casino.org)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sports Betting\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportsbetting\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Paul Hornung, NFL Legend, Helps Horseshoe Southern Indiana Open Sportsbook\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\",\"name\":\"Steve Bittenbender\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Steve Bittenbender\"},\"description\":\"Steve Bittenbender covers Midwest and Gulport news for Casino.org. He also specializes in sports betting and horse racing. Steve is a veteran reporter and brings more than two decades of experience covering sports, business and politics. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Steve has also covered major collegiate and professional sports for the Associated Press and the Louisville Courier-Journal and is frequently featured on local network TV newscasts and podcasts for his horse racing business and legislative expertise. A Reuters contributor, he has also previously served as editor for Government Security News. Steve lives in Louisville, Kentucky -- the epicenter of the US horse racing industry -- with his wife and son. He is also an avid poker player, having learned from his uncle as a wholesome after-school pastime with cookies and milk. Contact Steve at stevebittenbender@casino.org.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/steve-bittenbender\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Paul Hornung, NFL Legend, Helps Horseshoe Casino Open Sportsbook","description":"Hornung, a Louisville native and Heisman Trophy winner, placed the first bets at the southern Indiana sportsbook, wagering on Green Bay, his old team, and the Saints.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Paul Hornung, NFL Legend, Helps Horseshoe Casino Open Sportsbook","og_description":"Hornung, a Louisville native and Heisman Trophy winner, placed the first bets at the southern Indiana sportsbook, wagering on Green Bay, his old team, and the Saints.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2019-09-13T06:20:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-11-29T21:34:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":4032,"height":2268,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190912_141135.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Steve Bittenbender","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Steve Bittenbender","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/","name":"Paul Hornung, NFL Legend, Helps Horseshoe Casino Open Sportsbook","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190912_141135.jpg","datePublished":"2019-09-13T06:20:31+00:00","dateModified":"2019-11-29T21:34:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2"},"description":"Hornung, a Louisville native and Heisman Trophy winner, placed the first bets at the southern Indiana sportsbook, wagering on Green Bay, his old team, and the Saints.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190912_141135.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/20190912_141135.jpg","width":4032,"height":2268,"caption":"(Image: Casino.org)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/paul-hornung-nfl-legend-helps-horseshoe-casino-open-sportsbook\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sports Betting","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/sportsbetting\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Paul Hornung, NFL Legend, Helps Horseshoe Southern Indiana Open Sportsbook"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2","name":"Steve Bittenbender","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png","caption":"Steve Bittenbender"},"description":"Steve Bittenbender covers Midwest and Gulport news for Casino.org. He also specializes in sports betting and horse racing. Steve is a veteran reporter and brings more than two decades of experience covering sports, business and politics. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Steve has also covered major collegiate and professional sports for the Associated Press and the Louisville Courier-Journal and is frequently featured on local network TV newscasts and podcasts for his horse racing business and legislative expertise. A Reuters contributor, he has also previously served as editor for Government Security News. Steve lives in Louisville, Kentucky -- the epicenter of the US horse racing industry -- with his wife and son. He is also an avid poker player, having learned from his uncle as a wholesome after-school pastime with cookies and milk. Contact Steve at stevebittenbender@casino.org.","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/steve-bittenbender\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114799"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}