Caesars has opened its permanent retail outlet for Arizona sports betting, complete with a culinary twist.
Caesars announced Tuesday it opened its in-person sportsbook at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, in Phoenix. The new establishment also features Guy Fieri’s DTPHX Kitchen + Bar.
The two-story, 22,300-square-foot Caesars Sportsbook is the second retail sportsbook for Arizona sports betting. The first was the FanDuel Sportsbook at the nearby Footprint Center.
“Everything about this dynamic venue, from the food to the design to the service, has been meticulously planned for an unmatched guest experience,” Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall said in a release.
Caesars Arizona retail sportsbook details
The sportsbook and restaurant take the place of the Game Seven Grill in the plaza outside Chase Field.
The retail sportsbook at Chase Field includes nine betting windows and 13 self-service kiosks. There are also wall-to-wall flatscreen TVs and a capacity of 425 customers.
Fieri’s first Arizona restaurant offers up menu items like Trash Can Nachos. Caesars and Fieri worked together on other restaurant concepts across the country over the past decade.
Why Caesars pushes culinary in sports betting concept
Caesars hopes the Arizona stadium sportsbook differs from the traditional concept of sportsbooks in casinos. The hope is to draw a full range of customers throughout the year, whether or not they are interested in sports betting.
“It’s really to make it as comfortable as a place,” Caesars SVP of Retail Operations David Grolman told LSR last week. “If you go to a sportsbook in a Las Vegas casino, it’s male-dominated. The key here is to make it comfortable for everyone and make it an inviting place to come and watch sports.”
Caesars likely will not be alone in its food-driven concept in Arizona. An industry source recently told LSR BetMGM‘s retail sportsbook at State Farm Stadium will be “culinary-driven.”
Caesars no stranger to stadium sportsbooks
Caesars also runs the sportsbook at Washington DC‘s Capital One Arena, the first stadium sportsbook in US sports betting. William Hill, which Caesars acquired in 2021, opened the sportsbook in 2020.
Grolman said the physical presence of a Caesars Sportsbook is a brand reputation builder. He said sports betting is similar to banking: while a majority of the business is online, a physical location helps establish trust with customers.
Grolman is also hopeful having a sportsbook at a baseball stadium can help boost numbers during the “doldrums of our business.” Summers are typically a slow time for sportsbooks, with baseball the lone major sport in action.
Arizona sports betting numbers
Mobile sports betting accounted for 99.5% of total handle in March. Total March handle was $691 million, with $38.9 million in sports betting revenue, a 5.6% hold.
The two retail sportsbooks, one of which was the temporary Caesars Sportsbook, took $3.3 million in bets. FanDuel handled 87.9% of that with $2.9 million of the retail bets.
DraftKings led the way in the market with $230.2 million in wagers, a 33.3% market share. Caesars was fourth, with $95.8 million in bets, or 13.9% of the market.