Northern Nevada sees first casino opening in over two decades with Legends Bay Casino debut

The first new Reno-Sparks casino in decades has now opened its doors to the public. Legends Bay Casino at The Outlets at Legends, in Sparks, held a grand opening ceremony on Tuesday evening, attended by politicians, gaming executives, and guests from northern and southern Nevada, including some of the highest elected officials in the state.

Legends Bay is touted as the first new casino to open in Northern Nevada in more than two decades. “This has been somewhat long in coming,” Olympia Gaming CEO Gary Goett said on Tuesday, as reported by Reno Gazette Journal. “But we’re very excited to be here and share this project with the community.”

Gov. Steve Sisolak, also in attendance, called the grand opening “a great night for all of Nevada,” remarking the state’s “iconic gaming industry” is not just in Las Vegas. One Great Recession and a pandemic later, Sparks –which usually doesn’t get the same attention as Reno– is debuting the first casino in the area in more than 20 years.

It took about 15 years from start to finish, but developers are proud of the final product, even if the hurdles implied a downsize in the price tag from $500 million to the $130 million it ultimately cost to develop. In addition to adding a new gaming offering to the area, the venue is expected to employ about 300 people in a state hit hard by shutdowns during the pandemic.

Located at The Outlets at Legends, the 80,000-square-foot casino and dining destination features “an expansive gaming space” with its own loyalty program –LB Rewards– and the latest slot machines and video poker, live table games, and live keno. It also includes the region’s only Circa Sportsbook and a high-limit room. 

The casino floor itself features over 650 slot and video poker machines, 10 Live Table games, five blackjack tables, craps, roulette, three card poker, Pai Gow poker, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, and Live Keno, earlier reports indicated. The property also has three restaurants, including Duke’s Steakhouse, LB Grill and Food Truck Hall. 

Circa Sportsbook at Legends Bay Casino

But one of the amenities that is catching the most attention is Legend Bay Casino’s Circa Sportsbook, the first in Northern Nevada. Circa Sports CEO and Founder Derek Stevens was present at the opening ceremony. In conversation with Yogonet earlier this month, Stevens said the brand was “very excited” about putting a sportsbook inside the first new casino in Northern Nevada in over 20 years, an opportunity that also “opens a whole new market for Circa Sports.”

The new casino is located less than 10 minutes from Interstate 80, and is sandwiched between two hotels, also owned by Olympia, and the large outdoor shopping mall known as The Outlets at Legends. The retail development brings in about 12 million visitors a year to the area, and that customer base –along with an average of more than 2.5 million annual visitors to Olympia’s Fandango Casino in Carson City– will help fill Legends Bay Casino.

Tuesday’s event began with a VIP-only party featuring shrimp cocktails and glasses of champagne, before doors were opened to the general public. Celebrations are set to continue during the week, with fireworks scheduled for Friday night.