By Greg Bates
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – You can bet that March Madness was a great thing for the new Oneida Casino Sportsbook.
The 2,000-square-foot betting area located inside the main casino opened two days before Super Bowl Sunday and stayed busy through the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
“Over the first two weeks of the NCAA tournament, we had lots of foot traffic,” Chad Fuss, Gaming Assistant-Chief Financial Officer for Oneida Casino, said. “Many of the customers said they used to go to Vegas for that first weekend.”
The sportsbook features 59 televisions strategically placed around the room.
There are three cashier stations, along with 12 user-friendly kiosks to place bets.
There is also a full bar and kitchen with pub food.
Adam Thompson is an oddsmaker and handicapper for the online company Bookies.
The De Pere resident said he’s been impressed with the sportsbook.
“They did a good job in a quick amount of time,” Thompson, whose Twitter handle is @BookiesAdam, said. “In the limited space they had, there’s good seating and TVs, and the kiosks are easy to use. It became a quick destination for people who want to do sports betting.”
The casino became the first legalized sports betting operation in Wisconsin when it took its first bets at the end of November last year.
Wisconsin is one of 33 states and Washington D.C. to offer legal sports betting, according to Americangaming.org.
“Wisconsin is still behind much of the nation and most of the states around it when it comes to sports betting,” Thompson said. “Even when they get every casino in the state to have a sportsbook, it will still be behind Iowa, Michigan, Illinois and probably soon-to-be Minnesota. It’s a step in the right direction. They’re doing what they can. I applaud the proactiveness of Oneida to be the first, well ahead of everybody else.”
Thompson said every government entity is cash-strapped and looking for ways for new funding that isn’t raising taxes on people.
“Sports betting has been a nice boon to other states, and they’re using this money to build roads and other things,” he said. “It’s a no-brainer for the state – they just have to find a way.”
Fuss said the casino is feeling the impact of adding the sportsbook.
“It’s been really good,” he said. “Without telling you specific numbers, we’re meeting our expectations so far.”
Fuss said the opening weekend before the Super Bowl, the business volume increased every day leading up to the game.
The sportsbook was full for the Super Bowl, but there were enough seats for everyone to sit.
Traffic into the sportsbook slowed following the NFL season, but the first two weekends of March during the NCAA men’s basketball conference tournaments started another busy stretch.
“As soon as the brackets came out, we saw a good uptick,” Fuss said. “I was there on the first day of the NCAA tournament, and we had people lined up at 9 a.m. knowing games started at 11 – we opened at 10.”
There was a line snaking back into the table games on the casino floor of customers waiting to place bets at the cashier stations, Fuss said.
Casino personnel assisted some betters at kiosks to help reduce the lengthy line.
“We want to make it a good experience,” Fuss said. “We also have people betting on international soccer and tennis. How do we cater to the diverse sports fanatics?”
When Oneida Casino kicked off its sports betting Nov. 30, it didn’t offer as many choices for more specialized sports as well as minimal prop bets for some big contests.
Thompson said he likes that Oneida Casino added in-game betting where a customer can watch a game, quickly go to a kiosk and place a bet on that specific game.
“That’s a nice addition they didn’t have when they first opened,” he said. “I was pleasantly surprised to see they added that.”
Thompson said the casino has most of what Las Vegas sportsbooks offer as far as betting options.
However, prop bets are still lagging.
“It’s still not Vegas level or DraftKings sportsbook app level, but it’s going in the right direction,” Thompson said.
The sportsbook is currently open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to midnight Friday through Sunday.
It will stay open later if games are going late.
On Packers home games, the sportsbook will open at 9 a.m.
Thompson said he encourages anyone who hasn’t checked out the sportsbook to do so.
“Everything is more interesting when you have a little money on it,” he said. “I met some friends for March Madness, and they put $10 on Villanova. You don’t have to spend $100 on a game to enjoy it. You can put $10 on a game, grab a beverage, watch it and enjoy it like everybody else.”