Circa Coming To Illinois With New Sportsbook And Mobile Sports Betting
Circa Sports is entering Illinois with a new retail sportsbook and mobile betting. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Circa Sports is expanding its national footprint with a new retail sportsbook in Illinois as part of a deal with Full House Resorts. Circa will also provide mobile sports betting in Illinois subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Circa, a respected market-making sportsbook based in Las Vegas, currently operates in Nevada, Colorado, and Iowa. The Derek Stevens-owned book is known for catering to all bettors, including sharps, with wagering limits that apply to all its customers.
Circa Sports and Full House Resorts agreed on an eight-year deal with two four-year extension opportunities at Circa's option. Full House received a market access fee of $5 million this month, and will receive at least $5 million per year in revenue sharing after Circa starts offering mobile sports betting in Illinois.
New Sportsbook Will Be Located In Suburban Chicago
The new casino and sportsbook, American Place, will be located in Waukegan, a northern suburb of Chicago. It is expected to be completed within three years. Until then, The Temporary by American Place will serve as an interim casino facility starting this fall.
"For anyone who has seen that beautiful three-story sportsbook at Circa in downtown Las Vegas, I'm looking forward to having the best sportsbook in the Midwest," said Dan Lee, CEO of Full House Resorts in a call with investors on Monday.
American Place will be Circa's first retail sportsbook outside of Nevada, the Las Vegas Review-Jornal noted. Lee added the partnership with Circa Sports comes on the heels of Circa's success in Las Vegas.
"They are the most successful new casino to have opened in Las Vegas since (The) Wynn opened in 2004 and there's been a number of failures (since then)," he said. "But they focused on sports betting more than anyone else. It's all over the place, it's out by their pool (the Vegas-famous Stadium Swim), it's in their casino, and it works. They're a private company and they do it really better than anybody else, so we're pretty happy to be partnering with them."
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