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Ken Harry, of Metuchen, competes Saturday in a Madden NFL ’22 esports tournament at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
ATLANTIC CITY — Hundreds of gamers came out to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on Saturday to compete for $9,000 in prizes in a two-day Madden NFL ’22 tournament hosted by Esports Entertainment Group.
The event was the first ever esports skill-based wagering event in the United States, and launched the new esports wagering platform LANDuel.
Players were allowed to place bets on themselves in each round of the event. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement allowed each player to receive $25 in free credit to wager on themselves.
The tournament’s start was delayed about 45 minutes, but players were just as excited when the games began. Hordes of players waiting for their turn hunched over the few computers whose games started first, watching the competition closely and cheering on the other players.
Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group, said the LANDuel platform is the first of its kind due to a “handicapping” system that matches players with opponents of similar skill level. The system allows for more safety and accuracy, especially when it comes to betting, Johnson said.
Johnson said the launch of LANDuel and the partnership with Hard Rock will help bring more esports to the casinos in the future, which in turn will allow for a new generation of gamers and gamblers to participate. Streamers with thousands of collective followers were in attendance, which led to an increase in their followers signing up for the tournament as well, to compete or just to watch.
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“What we’re presenting here to casino owners is a new product to get a different demographic into the casino. In that room, there’s hundreds of 20-something-year-olds, which they’re not getting right now,” Johnson said.
For this event, which concludes Sunday, players could get virtual chips to bet on their games after logging into LANDuel, where they would find $25 in their account, and then redeem their cash if they won.
“Hard Rock and the DGE wanted to monitor things closely. It’ll be up to casino operators as we go forward,” Johnson said.
The tournament featured 256 players of varying skill levels. Some attendees were just looking to play for fun, while others took the tournament more seriously.
Chris McFarland, better known by his gamer tag Dub Dot Dubby, is a Madden streamer from Philadelphia with thousands of followers on Twitch and YouTube.
“I’ve been playing since Madden ’06. I’ve been around a long time and been to a lot of events,” he said.
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McFarland has made a career out of playing and streaming video games.
“Once somebody told me there was an opportunity to make money, I figured I might as well do that, since I’m going to sit here playing the game for hours anyway,” said McFarland. “I figured I might as well build a brand, and the success I’ve had in Madden tournaments over the years has kind of catapulted me into the career I have.”
As someone familiar with the gaming and sports betting scene, McFarland was excited to wager on the tournament.
“Betting is a huge deal in esports, especially Madden, because it comes from the basis of real sports. People love to bet on their games,” he said.
Ken Harry traveled from Metuchen, Middlesex County, to compete and meet up with other players from around the country.
“The tournaments get really fun. It’s a really tight knit community. It’s very fun to meet people in person who are coming from all over the country,” Harry said.
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He said he has competed against some of the players in the tournament in the past, and that he talked to a lot of other gamers before coming to the event.
“Events in person don’t really happen that often, so we all communicated online, talking in Discord chats until like 2 in the morning,” Harry said.
Other players were less experienced but just as excited.
“It’s my first time doing this, and I just can’t wait,” said Rahkim Brownlow, of Atlantic City. “I grew up just playing Madden and competing with other people. Someone told me this is just like playing online at home, but it’s different.”
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Ken Harry, of Metuchen, competes Saturday in a Madden NFL ’22 esports tournament at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
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