Sports Betting Launch Day in st. Louis: an In-Person Breakdown from Missouri LOUIS - For Missouri’s legal sports betting launch Monday, I appeared in-studio on a local news station, I shook hands with an NHL Hall of Famer and had a beer with Downtown Las Vegas’ most notable casino owner. Here’s a timeline of my day: 12:00 a.m. - Missouri’s first eight legal mobile sportsbooks start accepting bets, and I post on Twitter (which some people call "X") that the launch is live. I instinctually begin refreshing to bask in the ensuing "likes." 12:01 - Groggy from my alarm (set five minutes earlier) I fumble around my eight downloaded sportsbook apps trying to place what I hope will be the state’s first legal bet. 12:03 - I manage to put down $16 on the St. Louis Blues moneyline on that night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks. I realize there was no chance it was the first legal bet. 12:05 - A fellow Twitter user posts that he has not only placed a bet but what could have very well been the state’s first ever winning bet: A $5 wager at -3,000 odds placed at midnight that Deep Munim (which I figured was the name of a craft brewery IPA) would win the 8th game of the first set in his match against Aniketh Venkataraman in what I believe is some sort of tennis competition. Twitter user "TheJerk" (@dynastyjerk) won $0.17. 12:11 - I try to go back to sleep before what I know will be a frantic rest of the day. My emotional state can best be described as "child in bed on Christmas Eve." 6:02 - My alarm goes off. Like most mornings, I immediately check Twitter. SEVERAL more likes on my post. 6:05 - To celebrate the big day (or, presumably, due to lack of better options), I’ve been invited to a local news station to discuss Missouri’s sports betting launch. I begin getting myself "camera ready," an elevated state of grooming my co-workers can attest I’ve rarely undertaken.