At the recently 19th annual TribalNet conference at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, the information technology department at Pearl River Resort in Choctaw, Mississippi was recognized by Adobe in the Gaming and Enterprise Category for ordering and installing in just 30 days software and hardware to launch the resort’s new sports book. The resort, operated by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, was the first Native American property the U.S. to offer sports betting, at its Golden Moon Hotel & Casino.
In accepting the award, Pearl River Executive Director of IT Cheryl Smith noted 60 percent of her department’s employees are tribal members.
Chief Phyliss Anderson said what the IT department accomplished “was amazing.” She said the team was driven by wanting to compete with commercial casinos opening sports books at the end of August ahead of college football and National Football Leagues seasons. Anderson stated the resort’s sports book is able to offer higher revenues and attract more guests than the commercial competitors. The resort is located in the center of the Southeast Conference and caters to two Mississippi SEC schools as well as to fans in neighboring Alabama.
Without going into specifics, Anderson said the hold is greater than 8 percent, whereas commercial casinos have reported holds around 10 percent. “We’re doing a lot better than we originally anticipated. It’s gone beyond what we thought, and we’re very excited about it. It’s a football state, and everybody comes to bet on their teams. There are only two seasons in Mississippi–football season and waiting for football season. We’re seeing it full right now because it’s football season,” Anderson said.
Pearl River Director of IT Operations Edward Range added, “We are seeing people who have visited our casino who we have never seen before, and it’s because of our sports book. We’ve had people that have not played with us for many years that are now returning. At the sports book alone, the food and beverage sales have been higher than they ever been. People are eating and drinking while the games are going on.” Earlier, Rangel participated in a panel discussion on setting up sports book operations, where he described all the back-end work required, from choosing a vendor to building a new gaming system to training staff. He noted Pearl River negotiated a deal with International Game Technology in early August to provide sports betting technology
Anderson said she anticipates the resort’s sports books will be even more successful when online wagering becomes available on reservation grounds, comprising 35,000 acres in 10 counties in central Mississippi. “The younger generation are tied to their phones, and we need to do something with mobile. If they won’t come to us, we will go to them,” she said.
The second tribal sports book in the U.S. opened in October at the Santa Ana Star Casino Hotel in New Mexico, operated by USBookmaking on behalf of the Pueblo Santa Ana.
