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Atlantic City is dreaming of vast new riches that might come its way if the U.S. Supreme Court legalizes sports betting here and across the nation , but some analysts say the state might do well to curb its enthusiasm a bit.

While acknowledging that any new money would be a help, these analysts caution cite the level of business that sports betting generates in Nevada, the only state where single-game wagering is currently legal. Even with most of the country to itself in terms of the sports betting market, Nevada gets only a minuscule portion of overall state gambling revenue from such bets.

The Supreme Court will decide by June whether to overturn a federal law banning sports betting in all but four states that met a 1991 deadline to approve it: Delaware, Montana, Nevada and Oregon.

In a recent research report, Moody’s Investors Service noted that ”to date, legal sports winnings have been fairly slim.”

In Nevada, sports betting accounts for just 2 percent of statewide gambling revenue. Over the past 12 months, casinos won $215.3 million on sports bets, for a win percentage of 4.8 percent.

”From this win, the operators must pay taxes and expenses of operating the business, resulting in a very low profit margins and a small percent of overall earnings,” the company wrote.

In New Jersey, Moody’s estimated sports betting could initially bring in $108 million, or about 4 percent of New Jersey’s annual gambling revenue.

In contrast, internet gambling brought in $245.6 million last year in New Jersey, or more than 9 percent of the state’s gambling revenue.

Last week , Atlantic City casino and elected officials lamented the loss of sports betting revenue they would have expected to garner with the local team, the Philadelphia Eagles, in the Super Bowl.

City Councilman Marty Small called it ”a lost opportunity” and predicted the casino hotels would have been sold out for Super Bowl weekend. While not offering specific dollar estimates, some casino executives said the big game would have driven significant new customer visitation to the resort in order to bet on it, stay in hotels, and to eat, drink and gamble in casinos.

Numerous Eagles fans interviewed last week said they would flock to Atlantic City to place legal bets on their heroes, if only they had the opportunity, including some who haven’t been to the seaside gambling resort in years.

Many gambling stakeholders cite market size figures that estimate the volume of betting that will occur if sports betting is legalized, said Brendan Bussmann, director of government affairs with Global Market Advisers, a Las Vegas casino consulting firm. Such estimates substantially overstate the size of the sports betting opportunity for casinos because only 5 to 7 percent of the amount bet is held by operators as revenue, he said.

”This low level of hold, combined with low profit margins, make the industry relatively delicate,” he said. If prohibitively high tax rates are imposed by states, ”a market will not be able to attract operators, as there will be little to no money to be made.”

He cited the 34 percent tax rate (plus an additional 2 percent local cut) set by Pennsylvania on sports betting revenue as an example , saying ”34 percent of zero is still zero if no one enters the market.”

Global Market predicts that, with sports betting legal across the country, New Jersey would rank third by 2023 in terms of sports betting revenue with a minimum of $237.8 million. That would trail California at $295 million, and Nevada at $283.3 million. Those are low-end estimates, with high-end estimates reaching over $1 billion in California, $354 million in Nevada and $297 million in New Jersey.

But Moody’s also expects sports betting to help brick-and-mortar casinos earn money from renting rooms and selling food and drinks to customers – things Atlantic City casino officials are already anticipating doing.

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Follow Wayne Parry at Jed Lowrie loves the feeling of coming through with a clutch hit late to lift his team, and he just keeps showing a knack for it.

He is a big reason the A’s are rarely out of games even when down by a couple of runs.

The Oakland second baseman delivered his 12th game-winning RBI after filling in beautifully at third base during Matt Chapman’s absence, hitting a three-run double in the decisive sixth to help rally the Athletics past the San Diego Padres 6-2 on Tuesday night.

If that’s not enough to make Lowrie an All-Star for the first time in an 11-year career and at age 34, manager Bob Melvin might just throw his hands up in disbelief.

”It would be the icing on the cake. I feel like I’ve been close a couple times and haven’t been there,” Lowrie said. ”So that would be something I would always be able to say.”

Mark Canha added a solo homer in the sixth and Chad Pinder connected in the seventh.

The A’s finally got to San Diego starter Clayton Richard (7-8). Pinder walked to start the sixth as the first five hitters reached base. Khris Davis followed Lowrie’s double with a run-scoring single before Canha’s 11th home run, after a double play.

Emilio Pagan (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win in relief of A’s starter Chris Bassitt.

Chapman went 0 for 3 in his return from the disabled list after missing 16 games with a recurring right hand injury that began bothering him during the offseason. He had played in 149 straight games before the DL stint.

Wil Myers hit a run-scoring double in the fifth right after Eric Hosmer’s RBI groundout got the Padres on the board.

Bassitt, who has just one win in five starts since being called up last month, escaped jams in the first and third innings as the Padres stranded five baserunners. The A’s made a pair of forceouts at home in the third, including first baseman Matt Olson’s nifty throw after a backhanded stop.

Myers’ double chased Bassitt. He was tagged for two runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, struck out six and walked three.

Richard allowed five runs and six hits, walked a season-high five batters over six innings and struck out two in his second straight defeat.

”Defense picked me up early in the game but that’s the story of it was just too many three-ball counts and then put too many guys on with the walk,” Richard said.

Oakland, which had its six-game winning streak snapped Sunday by Cleveland , won for the 13th time in 16 games despite grounding into five double plays.

”As much as any team I’ve ever had, at least at this point, there’s no panic when we’re down,” the skipper said.

Leadoff hitter Travis Jankowski had three hits for San Diego, which will conclude the short two-game series Wednesday having played 23 of its last 28 away from Petco Park.

BIG MAC HONORED

Padres bench coach Mark McGwire, a former A’s slugger who spent his first 11 1/2 big league seasons in the East Bay before being traded to the Cardinals in 1997, was honored before the game as part of Oakland’s 50th anniversary season festivities in a ceremony at home plate with team President Dave Kaval. Big Mac received his green No. 25 commemorative A’s jersey and the Bash Brother tipped his cap to the cheering crowd.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Padres: RHP Jordan Lyles, scratched in the bottom of the first inning June 23 just before his scheduled start and on the DL with inflammation in his pitching elbow, played catch with the relievers and depending how he felt afterward the Padres would decide when he is ready to throw off a mound. … The Padres placed RHP Kirby Yates on the paternity list and recalled RHP Colten Brewer from Triple-A El Paso.

Athletics: RHP Trevor Cahill, who has an impingement in his throwing elbow, pitched in the Arizona League and is likely to make another rehab appearance Sunday or Monday before potentially joining the A’s in Houston early next week. … RHP Daniel Mengden (sprained right foot) threw a bullpen session and if all was OK by Wednesday the A’s planned to send him to Triple-A Nashville for a rehab assignment. … Oakland optioned INF Franklin Barreto to Nashville to clear roster room for Chapman’s return.

UP NEXT

Padres: RHP Luis Perdomo (1-2, 8.36 ERA), a taxi squad player, will be called up Wednesday to make his fifth start of 2018.

Athletics: LHP Sean Manaea (8-6, 3.38) is coming off a masterful June during which he went 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA in five starts.

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