By the time the 2019 NFL season kicks off, it looks like Las Vegas might have its biggest, newest sportsbook for patrons to take in the action. Folks from the Golden Gate Casino have been approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission on April 25 to take wagers, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
In coordination with the D and the upcoming Circa resort, Golden Gate is looking to operate the biggest sportsbook in town. Owner of the D and Golden Gate Casino Hotel Derek Stevens said it will eventually have “the biggest screen in sportsbook history” when construction on Circa is completed in 2020.
But 2020 is so far off, and sports bettors might want something new a little sooner. Matthew Metcalf, Circa’s sportsbook director, said they will open the first Circa branded book at the Golden Gate on June 1 to get everyone started.
It won’t be chopped liver either. The Moser Architecture Studio has designed it to have 18 screens and an LED board to display odds. Two betting kiosks will be available at launch.
This is strong evidence that Stevens really believes what he says. In December, he told us that he felt Las Vegas was still going to be the U.S. pace setter for sportsbook action. This new large state of the art sportsbook goes a long way towards proving that he has confidence in that declaration.
The new room will expand capacity in Las Vegas for sports betting, which already had a very healthy handle in 2018 with $5.01 billion, a new record for the town. If Stevens prediction is right, and sports betting expansion in the rest of the country doesn’t cut into Vegas’ numbers, Golden Gate’s new book will help that number go up.
Not everyone agrees with that forecast though. At the Betting on Sports America 2019 conference, Bill Pascrell III told CalvinAyre.com that he expects New Jersey to eclipse Las Vegas in sports any day now. He also pointed to the vast majority of his state using mobile options, rather than turning up to the casino, to make their wagers. If both of those trends hold true, this new Circa sportsbook might not live up to Stevens’ expectations
