Until recently, William Hill U.S. managed the sportsbooks for just two casinos on the Las Vegas Strip: Circus Circus and Sahara. That figure will multiply tenfold by the initial kickoff of the NFL season.
Nevada gaming regulators gave preliminary approval for the sportsbook to take over operations of six casinos under the management of CG Technologies, which it acquired in November. At the same time, William Hill added 11 more sportsbooks—nine on or near the Strip—thanks to the purchase of Caesars Entertainment by Eldorado Resorts. William Hill also manages five Downtown Las Vegas resorts: The Strat, Downtown Grand, Binion’s, Plaza, and Four Queens.
Speaking before the Nevada Gaming Control Board, William Hill CEO Joe Asher said the transition with CG Technologies should be seamless to customers.
The CG transaction expected to close August 27. “It’s a positive for CG to become part of William Hill,” said control board member Terry Johnson.
Through the acquisition, William Hill will oversee sports betting operations at Venetian Las Vegas, Palazzo, Tropicana Las Vegas, and Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on the Strip, as well as the Palms Casino Resort, and the Silverton. The Palms and Tropicana have not re-opened since the Covid-19 closures.
William Hill is working on taking over management of the Caesars Entertainment sportsbooks. Hill had an agreement with Eldorado prior to the Caesars deal, but Caesars CEO Tom Reeg told GGB News that the terms of that agreement must now change due to the merger, making Caesars the largest gaming company in the U.S.
For Asher, the assumption of CG would be a homecoming. He served as managing director of the firm, then known as Cantor Gaming, when the company came to Nevada in the mid-2000s. Cantor Gaming was the sports betting side of Cantor Fitzgerald.
He left Cantor Gaming in 2007 to form his own sportsbook management firm, Brandywine Bookmaking, which evolved into 16 sportsbooks under the Lucky’s Race and Sports name. Cantor sued Asher in 2011 when he agreed to sell Brandywine to William Hill for $15.7 million, with Asher as CEO of the U.S. operation. In 2017, a Nevada jury sided with Asher.
