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Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson casts the first sports bet (Staff photo by Ethan Duran)
A bet of 20 bucks was placed on the Milwaukee Bucks by Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson on Friday at the first sports betting center in the city at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.
The hotel and casino announced in January plans to replace the Northern Lights Theater and Fire Pit Sports Bar & Grill with a sports book with 20 self-service kiosks, open 24 hours a day, casino officials said. The sports book near the former bar and grill includes 30 high-definition televisions. Kiosks were placed in two separate areas to make placing bets easy.
The bet was for the Bucks to win the NBA Finals, Johnson said. If the team wins this year, he will get $70 back, a profit of $50.
Johnson said the sports book was a new addition to entertainment in Milwaukee. It would become another reason to visit tourist spots in Menomonee Valley, he added.
“In this city, we’ve got a ton of excellent entertainment options. We’ve got competitive sports, performing arts and outdoor recreation. There’s so much to offer here in Milwaukee. Today, there’s a new addition to the entertainment scene. It’s a sports book at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. It’s a big thing,” Johnson said at a news conference.
For the Forest County Potawatomi Community (FCPC), gaming dollars gives Tribal members better education, housing and job opportunities, FCPC Treasurer Manny Johnson II said at the news conference.
“It doesn’t stop there for us. Not only for our Tribe, we try to be a leader in the communities here and in Forest County… We try to help out with food pantries, domestic violence and the list goes on and on. We hope to spread it not just to our membership and families but cities and counties as well,” Johnson II said.
The new sports book comes during a $100 million, 120,000-square-foot renovation project on Potawatomi’s third floor.
The casino will open the first half of the project on Aug. 1 and will then “unveil it all” on Sept. 1, Potawatomi CEO and General Manager Dominic Ortiz told The Daily Reporter. The project includes a new VIP room for guests and new gaming spaces, he added.
Gene Simmons from the rock band KISS will return to open their Rock & Brews restaurant for the first half, Ortiz added.
Potawatomi Casino Hotel announced Friday the opening of its first sports betting location. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson cast the first bet: Twenty bucks for the Milwaukee Bucks (Staff photo by Ethan Duran)
