New operator to run Summerlin sportsbook
Shifts in the management of Nevada sportsbooks will continue if the Nevada Gaming Commission approves recommendations made by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
The board on Wednesday unanimously approved a recommendation for William Hill, operated by Caesars Entertainment Inc., to run the sportsbook at the Resort at Summerlin, formerly known as the Rampart casino, and Boomer’s Sports Book LLC to take over book operations at the Bonanza Casino in Reno.
The commission is expected to consider the recommendations at its next meeting, Jan. 29.
William Hill is the largest sportsbook vendor in the state with more than 120 outlets. If approved by the commission, William Hill would take over the operation at the Resort at Summerlin after the Super Bowl, executives told Control Board members.
The current vendor, Gaughan South, operated by South Point owner Michael Gaughan, notified the Resort at Summerlin that he planned to discontinue running the book there, prompting the casino to seek out a new vendor to take over the sportsbook space.
William Hill won an extensive request-for-proposal process. Caesars executive Eric Hession told board members the company plans to deploy “a significant amount of capital to upgrade the sportsbook” as well as install 20 kiosks in the casino.
Board members also unanimously approved the Boomer’s request to open its first operation in Reno.
Joe Asher, president and CEO of Boomer’s, said while the company is one of the smallest sportsbook operators, it’s also Nevada’s only independent sportsbook and the fastest growing sports-betting business in the state.
Ryan Sheltra, general manager of the Bonanza, told board members he is “excited to be a part of the Boomer’s family.”
The Reno operation would be the fifth Boomer’s location in the state, with books in place in Henderson, North Las Vegas and Carson City. Asher said the Reno location would open after the Super Bowl and in time for the NCAA “March Madness” basketball tournament.
Asher said he hopes to have a dozen sportsbooks open across the state by fall.
In other business, the Control Board unanimously recommended licensure of Michelle Ditondo as a manager and director for Resorts World Las Vegas.
Board member George Assad praised Ditondo’s rise in the male-dominated gaming industry and said he felt she was qualified since the day she was first introduced to him by Resorts World board chairman Jim Murren.
Assad said he believed had she been on board with Chief Operations Officer Carlo Castro and Chief Compliance Officer Jennifer Roberts last year, Resorts World could have avoided being fined $10.5 million – the second highest fine ever assessed by Nevada gaming regulators – in March.
That disciplinary action involved illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, who is under consideration for inclusion in Nevada’s List of Excluded Persons.
Assad said he believes the new group of Resorts World executives would not have tolerated Bowyer’s casino behavior and would have banned him before federal authorities began investigating reports of money laundering by Bowyer in the casino as part of his illegal bookmaking operation.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
