Circa Sports To Run Sportsbook At American Place Casino In Waukegan

WAUKEGAN, IL — A Las Vegas-based sports betting company will operate the sportsbook at the forthcoming American Place casino in Waukegan, company officials announced.

Circa Sports, which currently operates in Nevada, Iowa and Colorado, plans to expand its operations to Illinois in The Temporary by American Place, an impermanent casino set to be operated by Full House Resorts during the construction of the permanent facility.

CEO Derek Stevens, who founded Circa Sports in 2019, said he was thrilled to open up shop in a new state. Currently, Circa's sportsbooks are accessible via mobile betting offerings in Colorado and Iowa and in five locations in Nevada, among them a flagship location in the world’s largest sportsbook at Circa Resort & Casino.

“We have developed incredible relationships with Midwest bettors at our Las Vegas casinos, so to bring our product to the great state of Illinois is a major milestone for us," Stevens said in a statement.

Set to open later this year, the sportsbook at the temporary casino will include betting kiosks, ticket windows and digital boards with real-time odds, as well as 36 televisions showing sports. Circa will also offer gambling via a mobile app, according to company representatives.

“American Place has been an excellent partner for the launch of our temporary sportsbook. This is our first time introducing a physical book to a new state, and we are thrilled to work with Full House to bring it to life,” Stevens added.

In December, state gambling regulators selected Las Vegas-based Full House to operate the casino in Waukegan. The city had been specifically earmarked as a casino destination in the June 2019 gambling expansion sponsored by tax fraudster Terry Link, the former state senator for the area and chair of the Lake County Democratic Party.

“We promised Illinois a premium gaming and entertainment facility, and that includes a first-class sports book experience,” Full House Resorts Chief Development Officer Alex Stolyar said in a joint statement with Circa. “We witnessed how Derek and his team have revolutionized the sports betting and viewing experience at Circa, and knew that they would be the right partner for American Place.”

According to a memorandum approved by the Waukegan City Council earlier this month, the temporary facility will be approximately 70,000 square feet and cost at least $20 million.

The permanent American Place casino, which is set to have room for up to 2,000 gambling seats, will include a 20-room boutique hotel, four full-service restaurants, a 1,500-seat entertainment venue and a helipad, according to the agreement. Construction on the permanent building must begin within a year of the opening of the temporary casino and be complete within 36 months, it said.

The agreement with the city includes a 99-year lease of city-owned land in exchange for 2.5 percent of revenue or $3 million, whichever is higher, as rent payments. The casino operator can exercise an option to buy the property for $30 million after the permanent facility opens.

The Waukegan casino is set to be the fifth in the Chicago area. Last week, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced plans to forward Bally's proposal to build a casino along the Chicago River at the Tribune Publishing Center site.

Earlier: Full House Resorts Endorsed For Waukegan Casino By Gambling Board