Palms sportsbook operator approved by Gaming Commission
William Hill, Nevada’s largest sportsbook operator, will manage the race and sportsbook at the Palms when the resort opens Wednesday.
The Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously approved the nonrestricted gaming license following a brief hearing Thursday.
William Hill, now a unit of Caesars Entertainment Inc. after it bought the sports betting business for $4 billion a year ago, is modernizing the Palms sportsbook.
Under conditions approved by commissioners, a surveillance system must be installed, inspected and approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board within two months, and ticket writers must be employed by William Hill.
Jeffrey Hendricks, senior vice president and assistant general counsel of regulatory and compliance for Caesars, told Gaming Control Board members on May 6 that the revamped Palms book would have five betting stations and six kiosks when it reopens. The company would have to seek administrative approval to change those operations.
“It’s going to be a top-flight sportsbook project,” Hendricks told commissioners Thursday.
The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, already licensed by Nevada regulators to operate the casino, owns the Palms and announced this month that it would reopen the property with a fireworks display and a traditional tribal ceremony Wednesday night.
Palms began hotel room sales April 5 and will host its first guests in more than two years Thursday evening, the night the NFL draft begins in Las Vegas just down the street at Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard.
William Hill, which has been licensed multiple times in Nevada, operates 124 locations in the state.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.