Waukegan casino hopes to open sportsbook by start of NFL season; ‘It will bring added excitement, especially on game days’
As Circa Sports hones its online gaming platform for Illinois, it hopes to complete its licensing requirements and open its sportsbook at the Temporary by American Place casino in Waukegan by the start of the NFL football season.
Jeff Benson, Circa’s director of operations, said in an email he intends to open the sportsbook in Waukegan by late August or early September.
Both American Place owner Full House Resorts and Circa received the necessary approvals from the Illinois Gaming Board Thursday in Chicago to open the sportsbook at the Waukegan casino, adding a new feature to the four-month old gaming facility.
Along with the necessary approvals to add the sportsbook, Alex Stolyar, Full House’s senior vice president and chief development officer, said the casino now has additional table games and the staffing to serve them as it completes its fourth month of operation.
The gaming board authorized Full House to operate its temporary facility for three years while it builds its permanent casino with a 20-suite luxury hotel. The board also gave Circa the final nod to take the necessary steps to start both online and live sports betting.
Stolyar said Circa must now get its platform running and tested so gaming board officials can approve it. It does not require a board vote. It will go through a lot of testing. Benson said preparation of the online platform is “on track.”
“Online and Retail will be offered simultaneously when (the) launch date is determined,” Benson said in the email. “There will be straight bets, prop bets, parlays and future bets.”
Located at the west end of the casino, the sportsbook will have 18 television screens for people to watch a variety of athletic events simultaneously. On a given Sunday, all NFL games can be viewed at once. People can integrate the online platform with the live book.
“Patrons can sign up for the online app remotely and or in-person at the retail location which would include the ability for them to make deposits and withdrawals in cash,” Benson said.
Benson said the book will include physical ticket writers, kiosks, odds boards and seating, along with the 18 screens. Stolyar said food and beverage service is nearby, but not at the book itself.
Gamblers need not interrupt time at a slot machine or a blackjack table to make a bet. Stolyar said they can place the sports bet while they play another one of the games at the casino.
“This will give us one more attraction for people,” Stolyar said “It will bring added excitement, especially on game days. It will help make it a more extensive gaming and entertainment destination.”
With plans by Bally’s to open a temporary casino in Chicago in August, Stolyar said he is not concerned about that facility drawing customers away from The Temporary by American Place.
“We do not see them as competition,” he said. “Our direct competition is Rivers (in Des Plaines) and Potawatomi (in Milwaukee). There’s a lot of room for all of us. We’ll all do well.”
Since the casino opened in February, Stolyar said its staffing issues — which limited the number of table games which could operate — are resolved. Licensed to have 50, the operation opened with 28. Now there are 44.
Though Stolyar said he is not sure when the casino will be operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it remains open continually through the weekends, closing for four hours daily during the week.
“Everything continues to improve,” Stolyar said. “We’re pretty excited.
After opening at 8 a.m. on Fridays, the casino remains operating nonstop until 4 a.m. Mondays. On Mondays through Thursdays, it is open from 8 a.m. to the following 4 a.m.
While gamblers take their chances with the slot machines and table games at the temporary casino, Stolyar said the company continues to design the permanent facility which he hopes will be open within three years. The overall project is estimated to cost $500 million.
Chicago Tribune reporter Robert Channick contributed to this story.
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