Ohio: JACK Cleveland Casino and JACK Thistledown Racino unveil Vegas-style sportsbooks ahead of market launch

Sports betting is a month away from becoming legal in Ohio, and JACK Cleveland Casino and JACK Thistledown Racino opened their Las Vegas-style betting lounges on Wednesday. Even though visitors cannot bet yet, they can access theater-style seating and large video walls as they watch their favorite games. 

JACK Entertainment will run two of the five sportsbooks in Cuyahoga County, with the others owned by the Browns, Cavs and Guardians. MGM Northfield Park will also have a sportsbook in northern Summit County. 

The downtown casino and the racino in North Randall’s designs were inspired by the style and feel of Las Vegas sportsbooks, and have features including video walls, recliners and betting kiosks, along with table games and slot machines. 

Sure would be nice to park in a free covered garage & post up in an oversized living room w/the biggest TVs North Randall has ever seen to watch the OSU game...

Our @betJACK sportsbook is open for watching & lounging til we can take our first bets on January 1st!#GoBucks 🌰 pic.twitter.com/cDIjRPms5g

— JACK Thistledown (@JACKThistledown) November 25, 2022

The spaces are thought out to create in-person excitement that set them apart from online betting. In the casino, the sportsbook is near the Prospect Avenue entrance on the first floor, explains Cleveland.com. The 6,000-square-foot lounge will have two, 30-foot-wide video walls that can play multiple games at once, with more TVs scattered across the room.

It has five betting windows staffed by workers and 20 self-serve kiosks. The downtown sportsbook also has a table games pit, letting people play games like poker and roulette. The space will also have a video poker bar that seats 12. 

We saved ya a seat.

Come hangout in the betJACK Sportsbook @JACKCleCasino for a full day of NFL action! pic.twitter.com/pMl6Irpxmj

— betJACK (@betJACK) November 27, 2022

For its part, the Thistledown Racino sportsbook, while slightly smaller at 4,200 square feet, will have a 30-foot-wide video wall along with extra TVs placed across the room. It will also serve an 86-foot-long ticker, where guests can see scores, betting odds and other information as it scrolls across the room, notes the cited source. 

Thistledown’s sportsbook will have slot machines but no table games, as they are only allowed at the state’s four casinos. 

JACK Entertainment also has a mobile sports betting license and has launched the BetJack app. The app is up and running, but users can only place training bets at the time. Real ones will be taken only after January 1.

#LetEmKnow X @betJACK pic.twitter.com/3fAUQEOSUP

— JACK Thistledown (@JACKThistledown) November 24, 2022

As reported by Fox8, Adam Suliman, senior vice president of JACK Entertainment Sports and Digital, stated people can bet on partial results such as who is going to win the first quarter, total points in the half, which player is going to have the most rushing yards and so on. “Those are all bets that are available now,” he said. 

He also said that on January 1 there will be “a lot of big NFL games going on”, as it is a Sunday. “And then, the following day, we’ve got some big bowl games going on as well in the NCAA, so it’s going to be a busy week for us here,” he pointed out. 

Ohio’s sports gambling law passed in December, allowing brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, online betting and sports gaming kiosks that can be found in bars and bowling alleys. 40 licenses for retail sportsbooks have been created, but Cuyahoga County is limited to just five.