New sportsbook will be ‘Nevada’s only independent’ operator, CEO says
A new sportsbook operator could be coming to town.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board recommended licensure for Boomer’s Sports Book, which will operate a retail location at the Commercial Casino site in Elko, two satellite sportsbooks at Ellis Island hotel-casino in Las Vegas and Casino Valle Verde in Henderson, and a mobile application for digital betting.
Joe Asher, president and chief executive officer of Boomer’s Sports Book, said the new venture will only be available in Nevada and has no plans to offer any other type of gaming beyond sports. Asher, the former CEO of William Hill’s U.S. operations and former president of sports betting for IGT, said Boomer’s Sports Book will be “Nevada’s only independent sportsbook.”
“We think there is room in the market for an independent operator, as William Hill was before it was acquired by Caesars (Entertainment in 2021) — someone casinos can partner with for sports betting that is not a competitor to their core business,” Asher told the GCB during its monthly public meeting on Wednesday.
The Nevada Gaming Commission will consider approving the license applications for Boomer’s Sports Book at its next meeting. Asher said he intends to open the Elko location by Aug. 1, with the Las Vegas and Henderson satellite shops opening shortly after.
The goal, Asher told the three-member board, is to have roughly 10 Boomer’s Sports Book locations operating within a year. Asher said that there are “active discussions” with other potential partners.
“We know that we have a lot of work to do, but I feel good about where we are and look forward to getting Boomer’s open for business,” he said.
Joining Asher in launching Boomer’s Sports Book will be Dave Grolman, who will serve as senior vice president of sportsbook and customer support operations, Nick Bogdanovich, a SBC Sports Betting Hall of Fame inductee who is taking on the role of head of trading for the new book, and A.G. Burnett, former chair of the GCB and current gaming attorney with the McDonald Carano law firm who will head the compliance committee for Boomer’s. Asher described the team as “without question, the most talented team ever assembled for a venture like this in the state of Nevada.”
In explaining to the board how Boomer’s is structured, Asher said the sportsbook operation is leasing space in the non-gaming-active Commercial Casino after obtaining the rights to the property’s license.
Boomer’s Sports Book will run on IGT’s PlaySports platform and hardware, Asher said.
The possibility of offering pari-mutuel race wagering in the future is on the table, Asher said Wednesday. Recent legislative changes, namely the repeal of the disseminator requirement, should result in pari-mutuel wagering being offered in locations around the state where it previously was not, he said. As a result, Asher said Boomer’s will see how the “landscape evolves” before deciding whether to engage in pari-mutuel wagering.
Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0378. Follow @AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.
