- Nevada’s gaming industry reopened on Thursday, June 4 after a shutdown of more than two months.
- Caesars Entertainment was one of several sportsbooks to keep their mobile app up and running during the shutdown.
- Caesars Palace, the Flamingo and Harrah’s Las Vegas all reopened on June 4.
In another positive sign as the Nevada gaming industry comes back to life following an unprecedented 78 day shutdown the Caesars Palace Race and Sportsbook will reopen on Friday. The property reopened on Thursday, June 4–the first day that Nevada gaming licensees could reopen for business. The Flamingo and Harrah’s Las Vegas also reopened on June 4.
Many of the Las Vegas properties that reopened on June 4 also brought their sportsbook back on line at the same time. Some are still operating with reduced hours as the betting board remains light. The Caesars Entertainment properties kept their sportsbook dark when they reopened three of their Las Vegas properties. With the return of the NHL and NBA on the horizon there’s every reason to expect that business will increase significantly in the coming month or two.
Caesars Entertainment CEO Tony Rodio made these remarks in a press release announcing reopening plans for several Las Vegas properties:
“It has been a pleasure to welcome guests and team members back to some of our properties in Las Vegas and in other parts of the country. We are encouraged by customer interest and visits, strong demand and the implementation, so far, of our enhanced health and safety protocols.”
“Our expansion plans will continue to reflect customer demand as well as a focus on properly executing health and safety directives.”
In addition to the sportsbook reopening at Caesars Palace there are a number of restaurants, swimming pools and other amenities reopening. This is also the case at Harrah’s though the sportsbook at the property remains closed. Rodio also announced that the LINQ casino along with a number of dining options will reopen as well. For the time being, the hotel at the LINQ remains closed.
There is a bit of intrigue surrounding the Caesars Palace sportsbook at the moment. The ‘word on the street’ among knowledgeable ‘sharps’ and other insiders suggests that William Hill will be taking over the Caesars sportsbook sooner rather than later. Eventually, the most likely scenario is for William Hill to take over all of the Caesars Entertainment sportsbooks assuming that the deal with Eldorado Resorts is finalized. Eldorado already has a deal in place with William Hill to operate sportsbooks in their properties. The deal is still pending but there’s plenty of buzz that William Hill will take over operation of the Caesars Palace sportsbook in the very near future with some suggesting a matter of ‘days or weeks’. That would make sense as the deal is expected to receive final FTC approval by the end of June. Look for more on this in a subsequent post.
