Gila River Hotels & Casinos Partners with BetMGM To Bring Sports Betting to the Valley
Christopher Lomahquahu
Gila River Indian News
Sports betting has come to Gila River Hotels & Casinos with the opening of a first-of-its-kind establishment in the Valley. Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis and members of the GRH&C leadership team cut the ribbon on the BetMGM sportsbook at the Vee Quiva Hotel & Casino on Nov. 5.
The introduction of BetMGM’s high-profile name coupled with the sports book’s stylish atmosphere ushers in a new level of betting for GRH&C and patrons looking to take their sports gaming to the next level.
The BetMGM sportsbook offers a wide range of amenities for patrons to follow the on-field action, according to the GRH&C press release. This includes 25 huge display screens within a lounge-type atmosphere that can seat over 100 patrons. Additionally, there are 20 betting kiosks and tickets writers to help patrons place bets.
“On behalf of myself, the Community, Lt. Gov. Monica Antone and our 17 members of Council, [we] are so proud of all of you, of our gaming enterprise, our hotels and casinos, for this next chapter in the Gila River Indian Community – for being the first Native American sportsbook here in Arizona,” said Gov. Lewis.
Gov. Lewis highlighted the upbeat pace of development with the Community’s gaming arm, saying, “We are leading the way and are at the forefront of gaming in Arizona.”
Gov. Lewis also thanked the Gila River Hotels & Casino employees for their tireless work in making events like the opening of the BetMGM sportsbook possible.
“We started more than two years ago on the Gila River Indian Community side to make sports betting possible for us, with the amendment and reinstated tribal gaming compact,” said Dominic Orozco, Chief Strategic Marketing Officer, Gila River Hotels & Casinos.
Orozco said when the opportunity for sports betting was available to the Community, the Gila River Hotels & Casinos operations team toured the country to search for a sports betting provider to make sure the right one was chosen for the casino brand and GRIC.
“BetMGM, being out here in the west, being in Las Vegas, they know gaming and they’ve been in the business for quite a while, so we brought them in here and they’re the first Arizona BetMGM sportsbook to go live,” said Orozco.
“Looking at spaces that weren’t utilized, in the gaming business its revenue per square foot. This space [here], it used to be VQ live,” said Orozco, “We wanted to create everything that you can have at your fingertips utilizing the 2,000 square feet that we have for an enjoyable experience.”
Kenneth Manuel, the CEO of Gila River Hotels & Casinos, called the opening an exciting day for the Community, its gaming enterprises and Arizona sports fans.
“As Arizona’s Official Sports Headquarters, we take pride in bringing unique sports experiences to our valued guests,” Manuel said in the press release. “We’re excited to partner with BetMGM, the King of Sportsbooks, to deliver a diverse, engaging selection of betting options that are easy to transact, no matter if you’re a huge sports fan or you just want to check out the fun.”
In addition to Vee Quiva, GRH&C plans to open BetMGM sportsbooks at the Lone Butte and Wild Horse Pass properties.