Casinos can hold successful e-sports events, said several industry experts speaking at the E-sports and Casino Resorts conference at the SLS today. They just have to bring all the right people together in one place and treat them right.
Experts from e-sports teams, companies that offer e-sports broadcast platforms and fantasy e-sports services and others discussed what casinos can do to host successful e-sports events.
The development of e-sports and skill-based gaming can’t come soon enough for some in the casino industry, who see them as ways to draw a younger demographic to gambling.
However, speakers at the E-sports and Casino Resorts conference, being held today and tomorrow at the SLS in Las Vegas, say a move into e-sports requires more commitment.
When Southern Nevada’s first electronic sports arena opens its doors to the public next month, the public may be able to wager on the outcome of video-game competitions.
About 200 people attending a two-day conference on the business side of wildly popular e-sports competitions got the first look at the 15,000-square-foot arena space under construction at downtown’s Neonopolis. Millennial Esports’ as-yet-unnamed arena is scheduled to host the North American finals of the Halo Championship Series Open Circuit featuring a $25,000 prize pool Nov. 18-20.
The Nevada Gaming Policy Committee will meet next week to discuss the future of esports in the state, among other topics.
The committee, led by Gov. Brian Sandoval, includes gaming regulators, lawmakers and executives from gaming companies in the state. It has no formal power in Nevada, but its discussions on policy help frame how the state government moves forward on gaming issues.
The Nevada Gaming Policy Committee will hear presentations from a range of stakeholders and experts next week as it moves towards implementing an esports wagering framework for Nevada sportsbooks.
Seth Schorr, chief executive of Fifth Street Gaming; Sam McMullen, chief executive and founding partner of FiveGen; Ian Smith of ESIC; and Rahul Sood, chief executive and co-founder of Unikrn, will contribute to Item 5 on the Committee’s meeting agenda for November 16, ‘Esports in Nevada: how Nevada can become the esports capitol of the world’.
Following the path of Uncle Joe’s and Radio City Pizza, Evel Pie has arrived on Fremont East with pies, beer and late hours, but this time around, the pizza is served amid a mini-shrine to everyone’s favorite daredevil, Evel Knievel.
Golden Tiki owner Branden Powers has teamed with Knievel’s’ son Kelly, plus restaurateur Jeff Fine and Seth Schorr, chairman of Downtown Grand for the venture, packed to the walls with Knievel memorabilia.
William Hill USA is the first legal sportsbook in the United States to offer eSports betting. William Hill announced on Friday it would partner with Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino to accept wagers on electronic sports, which is the official name for competitive gaming on console, particularly video games.
The first legal eSports event at the William Hill’s Nevada sportsbooks was the IEM Oakland eSports event for League of Legends this past weekend. The event took place at the Oracle Arena and involved seperate tournaments for League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
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A new gambling option is now available in the state of Nevada, thanks to William Hill. The sports book accepted wagers on the Intel Extreme Masters Oakland League of Legends video game tournament last week, which marked the first time that a legal wager took place in regards to an eSports event in the US.
According to ESPN, William Hill accepted the wagers via Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino, with gaming regulators having agreed to allow the wagering previously. Brian Sandoval, the Governor of Nevada, stated that the announcement of eSports wagering in the state is a major step towards ensuring Nevada becomes the eSports capital of the world. By embracing the unique opportunity and incorporating innovation and technology within the gaming industry, Sandoval feels that the state will be expanding the potential of one of their oldest industries.
eSports governing bodies will have to submit a request no less than 30-days before their event begins if they have any chance of stopping a Las Vegas sportsbook from offering odds at one of their events according to an eSports news writer.
It was only a matter of time before the Nevada Gambling Commission (NGC) gave the green light for Nevada sportsbooks to offer odds on eSports events. As our very own Peter Amsel points out right here. William Hill US were the first to break that particular hymen when they opened a book on the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Oakland League of Legends (LOL) at Downtown Grand & Casino.
The Golden Tiki added to its Cabinet of Curiosities Thursday night by unveiling Norm Clarke’s shrunken head. Managing Partner Branden Powers and Tony Felicetta of The Sharps were on hand to present the honor to the former Las Vegas Review-Journal gossip columnist.
“Branden’s been a longtime friend of mine. I’ve supported him over the years, and he’s supported my column,” said Clarke. “I’m really honored to be among the little head crowd now at The Golden Tiki.”
