Share
Fremont Casino, a fixture on Las Vegas’ old-school Fremont Street, opened its FanDuel Sportsbook, the first FanDuel book in Nevada.
The Nevada sportsbook opening is part of a $50 million renovation the casino’s owner, Boyd Gaming, has launched. Boyd Gaming Executive Vice President of Operations Steve Thompson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
“Once we’re done, the entire Fremont casino will have the look and feel of this expanded casino space that you see — a modern, exciting new design for one of downtown’s most legendary properties.”
Along with the sportsbook opening, the casino debuted a new food hall and more casino gaming space. The updates add a level of modernization to the casino and, more importantly, bring the branding of the market leader in sports betting.
FanDuel Sportsbook at Fremont Casino has been in the works since August
Last summer, FanDuel and Boyd Gaming announced Fremont Casino’s plans to open a FanDuel Sportsbook. The sportsbook has all the amenities a bettor would expect:
- Seven betting kiosks
- Four betting windows
- Two 144-square-foot LED video walls
- 12 65-inch TVs
- A 40-foot bar
- 16 tables
- Seating for 76 customers
- 14 odds/promo screens
The Fremont Casino sportsbook is FanDuel’s first in Nevada. It’s the eighth state in which Boyd and FanDuel run a sportsbook.
FanDuel’s opening in Nevada marks the 17th state in which the company has a retail sportsbook. It also runs a book in Washington D.C. Earlier this month, the company went live in Ohio, too.
Boyd Gaming owns a 5% stake in FanDuel. In addition to its retail FanDuel sportsbook, Boyd offers a mobile sports book, “Boyd Sports.”
New Nevada sportsbook and renovations continue Boyd Gaming’s growth
The news of the FanDuel sportsbook opening adds to a year of gaming revenue growth for Boyd. The company saw an uptick in nine-month gaming revenue at the end of Q3 2022.
Last spring, the company announced it would acquire Pala Gaming for $170 million. Boyd made the move to bolster its online gambling platform, CEO Keith Smith said:
“The acquisition of Pala Interactive marks the next phase in the ongoing execution of our iGaming strategy, providing us full control over the technology, development and customer experience.
By integrating online casinos with our existing land-based operations, we will be able to further leverage and monetize our expansive customer database and the amenities of our nationwide portfolio of properties, driving growth in both our land-based and iGaming operations.”
The company’s stock price has held relatively steady since bouncing back from the 2020 recession. It peaked in March 2022 at around $70. This month, it’s hovered around $60.
Other gaming companies have not fared so well. Penn National, for example, peaked at around $120 in March 2021. Its shares have plummeted to anywhere from $29 to $32 over the past month.
