Louisiana: Boyd's Evangeline Downs and new FanDuel Sportsbook take first sports bet

The world of betting has extended to Acadiana, as Evangeline Downs in Opelousas launched Friday its sports wagering operations. 

The Boyd Gaming property, in partnership with FanDuel Sportsbook, inaugurated their operations along with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Louisiana Hall of Fame Runningback Dalton Hilliard placed the first bet during the event. Opelousas Mayor Julius Alsandor, Parish President Jessie Bellard, and State Representative Mike Huval were also present. 

Our FanDuel Sportsbook is OPEN! Louisiana legend, Dalton Hilliard, kicked things off with a ceremonial first bet.
We would like to thank our special guests, Opelousas Mayor Julius Alsandor, Parish President Jessie Bellard, and State Representative Mike Huval for joining us. pic.twitter.com/dNnkFp99CP

— Evangeline Downs (@EVDRCH) December 17, 2021

Fanduel Sportsbook will be open daily, featuring a newly designed 28,000 square-foot retail location that has three live betting windows, fourteen self-service betting terminals and 24 video displays and seating for more than 85 guests. 

As reported by KATC, Anthony Breaux, Director of Marketing, spoke about this new milestone and said: "Now, that it is a sportsbook, what's so great is not only are we going to have the excitement of people watching live sports in here, but now people are going to bet and what's so amazing is it is going to bring new people in."

Dalton Hilliard places the inaugural bet Friday.

Dalton Hilliard also commented: "I think that connects the individual with their team that they're supporting whether its football, baseball, golf, basketball. Louisiana is passionate about sports. "

Evangeline Downs, along with other four Boyd Gaming properties, were granted their licenses early December. Last week, Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns expressed his expectation to have online sports betting in the state up and running before Super Bowl LVI on February 13. For now, all sports betting in the state are in-person at licensed facilities.