By Pepper Fisher
BLYN, Wash. — It’s been a long time coming, but sports betting has arrived at the 7 Cedars Casino.
This Thursday at 11:00am will mark the grand opening of Cedars Sportsbook, the newest addition to 7 Cedars. We asked the CEO of the casino, Jerry Allen, to give us a sense of what we can expect to see.
“Well, we certainly installed two of the biggest screens in the county, by far. We have two large screens. I believe they are 26 feet and 24 feet wide, and probably about 12 feet tall. That, I think, is very consistent with some of the sports books you see down in Las Vegas with comparable size casinos. We have brought in brand-new theater style seating. We’ve got kiosks. Kiosk betting, rather than walking up to a live person, has become more popular. So, we’re excited about the kiosk part of this as well. So that’s really part of where this industry is moving towards.”
Sports betting at tribal casinos is now possible after Governor Inslee signed new sports betting legislation into law three years ago. The bill was passed in both the State Senate and House with strong bipartisan support. A big part of that support was because the bill was written to ensure the revenues from sports betting would remain in Washington and benefit all Washingtonians.
For those of you who don’t have a lot of experience in sports betting but might like to give it a try, introduce yourself to 7 Cedars Casino Manager Bill Matsko. Allen says Matsko has made it part of his job to answer any questions you may have.
“Yeah, 100%, right. Bill comes from the Las Vegas market. You know, going all the way back in the late 70s, and long before he showed up on our doorstep in 1995 when we opened up here. So yeah, his familiarity with sports book is going to be invaluable to those people who want to know what the different types of bets are. That’s just one way to help educate people, but Bill will be, by far, and his staff, to help train people how to do it without feeling awkward. So I think it’ll go good. We’re looking forward to it.”
Along with a ribbon cutting ceremony and giveaways on Thursday, 7 Cedars is bringing in legendary sportscaster of 70 years, KONP’s own Scooter Chapman, to make the first bet in the new facility.
It’s 7 Cedars’ grand opening of Cedars Sportsbook, this Thursday, January 12 at 11:00am.