Circa Sports Readies Largest Sportsbook in Kentucky With 80-Foot LED Screen
With the biggest sportsbook in the Bluegrass State, Circa Sports is bringing Las Vegas to Kentucky.
The Mint Gaming Hall at Kentucky Downs hosted a soft opening for Circa Sports Kentucky on Wednesday. In September 2020, the Franklin Thoroughbred Horse Racetrack, which is situated on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, launched a gambling facility with historical horse racing machines (HHR) that resemble slots.
In a sportsbook that looks like it was taken from Las Vegas, customers will soon be able to wager on professional and collegiate sports in addition to parimutuel wagers.
Derek Stevens, the downtown Las Vegas visionary behind the Circa, the D, and Golden Gate casinos, owns Circa Sports, a retail and online betting company. According to Stevens, Circa Sports Kentucky was "built to be a premier gameday spot" for sports fans from "Kentucky, Nashville, and beyond."
"We’re proud to officially open the doors to this new sports betting experience for fans across the region,” Stevens said.
Officials at Kentucky Downs' The Mint Gaming Hall stated that Wednesday's event was merely a "soft launch." On Saturday, August 23, the public will have full access to the sportsbook facilities.
In the meantime, the Circa Sports mobile app is open to bettors who are at least 21 years old. In Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, and Nevada, Circa Sports is also available online.
The Circa Sportsbook Experience in Las Vegas
Circa Sports Kentucky offers a comparable experience to the renowned Circa Las Vegas Sportsbook, but being smaller.
The 5,100-square-foot venue has five manned betting kiosks, 113 stadium-style seats, booths, and recliners, an 80-foot-wide LED screen, and a 31-foot-wide odds board with real-time lines.
"VSiN By The Books" will be aired live from Circa Sports Kentucky by VSiN, the Vegas Stats & Information Network, which mostly broadcasts from Circa and the D in Las Vegas. Just in time for the NFL and college football seasons, "By The Books" will make its premiere from its new location next month, and VSiN is available on Sirius.
Counters at Circa Sports Kentucky will be manned from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day and until 11 p.m. on weekends. For exceptional late-night events, hours will be extended. Four self-service sportsbook kiosks are available for bettors to use when oddsmakers are not present.
From Breeder to Casino Owner
Kentucky Racing Acquisition, a company run by entrepreneurs Ron Winchell and Marc Falcone from Kentucky, is the owner of the three Mint Gaming Hall sites.
Winchell is the owner of Winchell Thoroughbreds, a well-known Lexington racing and breeding company. Falcone is a seasoned veteran of the gambling business who served as executive vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer at Red Rock Resorts and Station Casinos.
After the Kentucky Supreme Court decided that HHR machines' operations did not amount to legal parimutuel wagering, the state of Kentucky, which had previously opposed casino gambling, approved them in 2020. Legislators responded by passing legislation to strengthen their position in the law.
Under the guise of modern, computerized parimutuel wagering, some horse racetracks started installing HHR terminals in their grandstands in 2011.
Mint Gaming Halls are located in Bowling Green, Williamsburg, and Corbin in addition to Kentucky Downs in Franklin. With over 1,000 terminals, Kentucky Downs has the largest number of HHR devices. Williamsburg has 450, and Bowling Green has over 500.
