NFL attorneys on Thursday said that the "'belligerent' actions" of New Jersey officials and the state’s thoroughbred horsemen has forced the league and four other sports organizations to "seek a temporary restraining order in federal court to prevent betting on NFL games at Monmouth Park on Sunday," according to John Brennan of the Bergen RECORD. Attorneys wrote that the motion for the restraining order, filed to U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp, "is needed ... to maintain the 'status quo' pending a full hearing of the case." Monmouth Park attorney Ron Riccio on Wednesday in a court filing said that the track "expects up to 10,000 sports betting patrons on Sunday, calling it 'a major event in Monmouth Park history.'" But he added that there "would be irreparable harm created ... if the 'renaissance' for the track is delayed." The leagues countered that it is they, "and not the track, that would be severely harmed by an adverse ruling about a restraining order" (Bergen RECORD, 10/24). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Josh Dawsey cited casino execs as saying that no casino in Atlantic City "is yet moving toward taking sports bets ... largely because they are skeptical of the state’s legal reasoning." Caesars Entertainment Dir of Corporate Communications Gary Thompson: "We’re not doing anything. I imagine any other casino operator would face the same issues and would not want to jeopardize it." Monmouth Park attorney Dennis Drazin said that as the track "launches its sports-betting services this weekend, there may be snags: Most bets will be done by hand because computers and Internet aren’t set up." He expects that there will be "clogged rooms and long lines, which could frustrate some." Drazin eventually "imagines people flocking to the racetrack seven nights a week and sports betting becoming profitable for the facility." He added that he "isn’t worried about federal intervention" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/24).
