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Some sports fans might believe this new way to wager at Mohegan Sun Pocono will be little more than a passing fad.Wanna bet?If gamblers who flooded the casino&#8217;s first full opening of Unibet Sportsbook on Thursday are any indication, the new sports betting lounge is destined to score major points with casual fans and big bettors alike.Take Ted Ritsick, for example.Less than two hours before Northeastern Pennsylvania sports fans got their first chance to legally lay down some cash on the Philadelphia Eagles, Ritsick preferred to keep his money in his pocket.&#8220;I&#8217;m not much of a bettor,&#8221; Ritsick said.But he was once a golfer who, he is almost certain, set a record for birdies at Hollenback Park. And he couldn&#8217;t keep himself from taking a walk into Unibet Sportsbook.Why on earth would he pick that place to get himself set if he wasn&#8217;t even there to place a bet?&#8220;The TVs!&#8221; Ritsick roared, looking straight at the humongous one in the middle of wall stacked with them that can show up to 16 games at a time. &#8220;I only came for the big screen. My gosh, that&#8217;s a big one. I&#8217;ve never seen one that big.&#8221;Actually, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area has never seen anything like this.Maybe that&#8217;s why some of the patrons who made their way to drop wagers Thursday were shy to be identified.Like one guy who wanted only to be called Paul, and another who wouldn&#8217;t give any name at all.Guys, it&#8217;s legal now.&#8220;It was badly needed,&#8221; said the gentleman who asked not to be identified. &#8220;I love it, and it was easy. When you do it this way, it&#8217;s legal.&#8221;Inside at a kiosk was a wagerer wearing the shirt of an Eagle.Actually, there were a lot of those at Unibet Sportsbook, just before Philadelphia played Green Bay in an NFL Thursday Night game.&#8220;I&#8217;m definitely a huge sports fan,&#8221; said Paul from West Pittston, who was donning the jersey of Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce because, he said, &#8220;I played on the line in high school, gotta go with the linemen.&#8221;For the first time, fans who want to place bets on their team don&#8217;t have to go anywhere to do it.&#8220;It&#8217;s making things a lot easier,&#8221; said Dean Pascucci, from Kingston. &#8220;It&#8217;s really good I don&#8217;t have to travel (to place a sports bet). A lot of times I was going to Atlantic City or Philadelphia. It&#8217;s good to finally be able to do it locally.&#8221;Two things happened to make that possible.Pennsylvania first legalized sports betting in 2017, but had to wait until 2018, when the U.S. Supreme court lifted a national ban on sports wagering outside of Las Vegas.Then Unibet reached a deal to make Mohegan Sun Pocono its 11th Sportsbook lounge in the state, following a recent opening at Mount Airy Lodge and Casino. The Mohegan Sun Pocono venue ran its first full day Thursday, after a soft opening Tuesday and Wednesday under the supervision of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and under limited hours.&#8220;It&#8217;s about time Pennsylvania caught up to the rest of the country,&#8221; Paul the Eagles fan said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been waiting for this a long time. Not only am I going to be losing more money now, but I&#8217;m going to be losing more money and enjoying it.&#8221;There are plenty of ways for wagerers to lose cash, or win it.They can bet on teams, points spreads, over-unders at two rows of kiosks or at walk-up windows, while games play out on the televisions with a large ticker-tape reminding bettors of upcoming games, and those in progress, from various sports and leagues throughout a regular 11 to midnight wagering day.They can gamble individual props, like if Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz will throw for 300 yards or if Green Bay&#8217;s Aaron Rodgers will throw four touchdown passes, or they can wager on team props, like which will be the first to score a touchdown in a given game &#8212; almost like scenarios out of a football fantasy league.&#8220;I run a fantasy league every year,&#8221; Paul said.The fantasy for gambling fans in Northeastern Pennsylvania just became a reality.<div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Paul Sokoloski covers area sports for the Times Leader. You may reach him at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @SokoSports</shirttailMeta></div>

Opening of Sportsbook the start of a new craze