Casino City’s Friday Five: New Las Vegas casino resort edition

It has been highly anticipated but it is finally here. Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas officially celebrated its grand opening on Wednesday and started welcoming in guests to the property on Fremont Street. Before we dive into what this resort has to offer, we also take a look at some other top stories. This week, we have cashless gaming hitting a New York casino, Twin River Worldwide changing its name and two U.S. states with some sports betting news.

Let’s kick this week off with some cashless gaming.

5. Aristocrat and Boyd Gaming bringing cashless gaming to Blue Chip Casino
In a growing trend throughout the industry, Aristocrat Technologies announced it has partnered with Boyd Gaming Corporation to launch Aristocrat's cashless wagering digital wallet technology at Boyd Gaming's Blue Chip Casino, Hotel & Spa in Michigan City, Indiana.

As part of the "Resort Wallet" feature, patrons can place cash on account at the cashier cage, then use their player loyalty card to instantly access those funds on the casino floor.

Blue Chip launch will initially provide access to the wallet for slot machine players, allowing them to use their B Connected player loyalty card to place wagers and cash out credits. In future stages, access to the digital wallet will be expanded to table games, restaurants, and other amenities at Blue Chip.

4. Twin River Worldwide Holdings to become Bally’s Corporation
On Wednesday, Twin River Worldwide Holdings announced that, effective 9 November 2020, it will change its name to Bally's Corporation.

Soo Kim, Chairman of the company's Board of Directors, said, "The Bally's brand embodies a rich history in American gaming and entertainment, aligns perfectly with our current and future growth strategy, and is ripe with untapped innovation potential to help us launch future entertainment services. We thank Caesars Entertainment for entrusting us with one of the industry's most iconic brands."

As a result of its disciplined portfolio diversification strategy, once all pending transactions are closed, the company will operate 14 casinos, a racetrack and 13 OTBs across 10 U.S. states.

This announcement comes with the Twin River acquisition of Jumer's Casino and Hotel in Illinois and Tropicana Evansville in Indiana.

3. Tennessee launching sports betting on Sunday
As many as four sportsbook operators — including FanDuel and DraftKings, BetMGM Casino and local operator Action 24/7 — will make their official debut in Tennessee on Sunday, making it the 19th U.S. state to operate legal sports betting.

Once the market reaches maturity, analysts from PlayTenn believe the Tennessee sports betting market could generate $6 billion in bets annually.

"Tennessee's sports betting industry will be purely a product of the modern movement to legalize gaming, with a regulatory framework that is unique and online operators untethered to any conventional retail casino," said Jessica Welman, analyst for PlayTenn.com.

Tennessee's market is almost identical in size to Indiana, a state that has attracted $1.4 billion in sports wagers in 13 months since launching, making it the fourth-largest market over that time.

Sports betting is coming to Tennessee on November 1, and we're your ONLY legal, local sportsbook.

(You already know we're from Tennessee, so we don't have to have a picture of the state in our ad. ??)

— Action 247 (@TNAction247) October 23, 2020

2. William Hill sports betting app hits Indiana
William Hill has entered another U.S. state with the launch of its sports betting app and website.

Available for use from anywhere in the Hoosier state, the William Hill mobile app and website version offers a betting experience that is easy and quick to find, make and track one’s bets.

The app also includes many deposit and withdrawal options for customers, live scoring game casts, and a quick and secure registration process.

William Hill now offers mobile sports betting apps in seven states (Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey and West Virginia), plus Washington D.C., since launching its first mobile offering in 2012.

The @WilliamHillUS Sports Book app is LIVE in Indiana!

For over 86 years, we’ve been taking bets…
and we’re just getting started.
Download the app, register, and put America’s #1 Sports Book in the palm of your hand.

Let’s make it interesting!https://t.co/eIwFGaRLy0 pic.twitter.com/NT12IS48vv

— WilliamHillIN (@WilliamHillIN) October 28, 2020

1. Top 10 most unique attributes and amenities at new Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas
Located on the iconic Fremont Street Experience, the opening of Circa Resort & Casino is the start of a new era for Downtown Las Vegas.

Designed by world-renowned architect Paul Steelman and Steelman Partners, the 35-floor property will stand as the tallest structure north of the Las Vegas Strip.

The new resort is home to 777 rooms and a two-story casino. Not to mention the incredible sportsbook at this property. It will be able to hold 1,000 sports bettors who want to watch a game on the “biggest screen in sportsbook history at 78 million high-def pixels.

And that’s not all. Guests will also be able to enjoy Stadium Swim, Circa’s pool amphitheater. The six pools will be open 365 days a year with 30 cabanas, 38 daybeds and the massive 135-by-41-foot, 14 million-megapixel LED screen along with plenty more features.

A "new era" for #LasVegas begins when @CircaLasVegas opens at midnight. We preview the @DerekJStevens creation by highlighting 10 of the coolest attributes and amenities, including @stadiumswim, the biggest #sportsbook in history & a $42 deli sandwich: https://t.co/uX3QAnmwj6 pic.twitter.com/DhGs0gaf9p

— Gary Trask (@casinocityGT) October 27, 2020